The National Assembly Defence Committee has warned that senior officials from the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) will have to be declared hostile witnesses after they skipped a scheduled appearance in Parliament to respond to questions over alleged crimes committed by their soldiers in the country.
The Defence Committee had summoned BATUK representatives alongside Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya. However, only Tuya and her principal secretary, Patrick Mariru, attended the session.
CS Tuya told lawmakers she could not account for the BATUK officials’ absence, saying her ministry had fulfilled its role through the Foreign Affairs docket.
Committee chair Nelson Koech said the officials would get another chance to appear but warned they risk being declared hostile witnesses if they continued to ignore summons.
“There are children born out of 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.
The term “hostile witness” refers to an individual or entity that refuses to cooperate with a parliamentary committee by failing to provide evidence during an investigation. In such cases, the committee can order their arrest and compel them to appear, or impose a fine.
During the session, several Members voiced strong concern over BATUK’s continued failure to appear. Yusuf Hassan condemned the absence, saying it was unacceptable for a foreign government to ignore a matter directly impacting Kenyan citizens.
“It is unfortunate that a foreign government has declined to appear before this Committee on a matter that directly affects Kenyan citizens. You cannot come to a country and shield alleged perpetrators of serious crimes.”
Memusi Kanchory reminded the House that they had personally visited Laikipia and Samburu to hear residents’ grievances, adding that BATUK’s repeated no-shows demonstrated clear contempt for the Committee and Parliament.
“We have travelled to Laikipia and Samburu to listen to the people. The repeated failure by BATUK to appear before us is a sign of contempt for this Committee and Parliament,” Kanchory observed.
Joshua Kandie stressed that Kenya is a sovereign nation and insisted that all partners must respect its people and institutions.
BATUK, which operates a training base in Nanyuki, Laikipia County, is currently under investigation for alleged corruption, fraud, torture, mistreatment, abuse of power, and killings linked to its soldiers.
The most publicized among these is the 2012 rape and murder of Agnes Wanjiru, who was seen at a nightclub in Nanyuki for the last time with a group of British soldiers. The 21-year-old was raped and her body was discovered in a septic tank at a hotel two months after she went missing.
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