- BATUK officials skipped a parliamentary hearing on alleged crimes.
- Defence CS Soipan Tuya and PS Patrick Mariru attended, but BATUK was absent.
- MPs warned the unit could be declared hostile witnesses.
- Accusations include killings, abuse, and corruption.
- The 2012 murder of Agnes Wanjiru remains a key case.
Senior officers from the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) failed to attend a session with the National Assembly Defence Committee on Tuesday.
The committee wanted them to answer questions about alleged crimes by their soldiers in Kenya.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya and Principal Secretary Patrick Mariru showed up, but Tuya told MPs she could not explain BATUK’s absence. She said her ministry had contacted them through the Foreign Affairs ministry.
Committee chair Nelson Koech criticised BATUK for ignoring the summons.
He said the unit could be declared a hostile witnesses, a label for those who refuse to cooperate in parliamentary inquiries.
This status gives the committee powers to order arrests, force attendance, or impose fines.
“There are children born from illegal relationships with British soldiers. This House was reluctant to pass the Defence Cooperation Agreement, so in the eyes of this committee, BATUK are hostile witnesses,” Koech said.
BATUK runs a training base in Nanyuki, Laikipia County.
It faces accusations of corruption, fraud, torture, abuse of power, and killings.
One of the most well-known cases is the 2012 murder of Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old woman who was raped and killed after a night out with British soldiers. Her body was found in a hotel septic tank.
The committee has given BATUK another opportunity to face Parliament.
They warned that ignoring the next summons will lead to strict action.
