Report: British soldiers rape Kenyan women and abandon children

British soldiers are accused of raping thousands of Kenyan women during their decades of training in the East African country. The alleged rapists reportedly left behind dozens of children they fathered.

Mixed-race children continue to be born in remote villages in the central Kenya region where the British Army Training Unit (BATUK) trains its troops, CNN reported on Monday. At least 69 of the children were allegedly born as a result of rape committed by British soldiers.

Other children who grew up in consensual relationships have received no support or contact with their fathers, who returned home after completing their education, CNN reported. They also suffer exclusion from their neighbors.

“They call me ‘mzungu maskini’ or poor white girl,” 17-year-old Marian Pannalossy told the US media company. “They always say: ‘Why are you here? Just looking for connections so you can go to your own people. You don’t belong here.'”

Allegations that British troops committed crimes in Kenya, including rape and murder, date back to the 1950s. In one notorious case, a 21-year-old woman disappeared in 2012 after being seen entering a hotel with British soldiers. Her body was later found in a septic tank. The soldier, identified by other soldiers as the suspected killer, was never brought to justice.

The British Ministry of Defence dismissed rape allegations made by 2,187 Kenyan women in 2007, saying there was “no reliable evidence to support any of the allegations.” Royal Military Police investigators concluded that much of the Kenyan evidence appeared to be fabricated. CNN reported that British authorities had not conducted DNA tests on any of the mixed-race children born to alleged rape victims.

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Some of the villagers testified before Kenya’s Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission in 2009 that they had been ambushed by British troops while carrying out their daily duties. Soldiers were accused of raping 30 women, in many cases at knifepoint. The commission later claimed that the government in Nairobi had lost the files of the alleged victims.

According to CNN, Britain pays the Kenyan government about $400,000 annually for permission to conduct training near the country’s Laikipia and Samburu game reserves. The controversial contract was extended in 2021.

A new provision of the agreement allows British soldiers to be sued in Kenyan courts. CNN reported that lawyer Kelvin Kubai is working to bring the rape cases of more than 300 women back to court. “The Kenyan legal system offers better redress than what is possible in the UK,” he told the broadcaster.

Under Kenyan law, there is no statute of limitations for human rights violations. This could give women who are accused of being raped decades ago a chance to claim compensation. Many of the plaintiffs have died while waiting for their cases to be heard.