The UK Minister for Armed Forces, James Heappey MP(MinAF) was in Nanyuki, the British Army Training Unit in Kenya(BATUK).
The minister addressed concerns about excesses of the British Army in Nanyuki, including the alleged murder of Agnes Wanjiru, a local single mother whose life was cut short by a rogue soldier.
The alleged murder has since remained unresolved until a regiment soldier once based in BATUK made a controversial Twitter post.
The move has led to outrage and demand by MPs that the BATUK base be closed.
Below are excerpts of the interview as moderated by staff witter, Henry Kimoli.
MinAF: Good evening, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I’ve just been meeting with representatives of the Nanyuki community. And I wanted to give them as much time as they wanted to talk to me. So I’m sorry that you’ve been kept waiting. And I’m very happy to answer whatever questions you’ve got. Who would like to go first?
BBC: Yesterday(Tuesday 2nd November 2021), the Defence Committee claimed that one of the members of parliament said that this case is just one of many, some of which haven't been revealed because the locals will never get justice as there was maybe British Army officers involved. What do you have to say about that?
MinAF: Well that concerns me enormously. What I’ve just said to representatives of the community, and what the Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace and I have made absolutely clear to everybody who works from the British Ministry of Defence and the British Armed Forces, is that if there are further allegations that come to light, absolutely no stone will be left unturned in making sure that we provide all of the information necessary for the Kenyan authorities to investigate those claims.
The UK has nothing to hide here. We want the investigations to be dealt with as quickly as possible. We want those responsible to be brought to justice. Because Agnes and her family have already had to wait too long for these cases to be resolved. We need that now to be investigated and brought to the courts here in Kenya as quickly as possible. And any further allegations that come to light can be dealt with with the same urgency on our part.
BBC: Have you met the Wanjiru family?
MinAF: No, I haven’t. But I think that it would be entirely appropriate for somebody from the British mission here in Kenya to do that. If I had the time in my programme, I think I would.
I think that it is perfectly possible. In fact, I think it’s important for the UK Government to show our solidarity with Agnes’ family, our belief that she has a right to justice, a daughter has a right to justice.
And I think it’s perfectly possible that we can meet without prejudicing the case and without admitting culpability. And I’d like the team here on the British mission to look at how you might do that in the very near future.
Daily Nation: Will the UK extradite any suspects to face prosecution here in Kenya?
MinAF: These are legal matters that will need to be considered in time. I think the Secretary of State for Defence has been clear that if the investigation leads to charges against a British service person, that he will make sure that the Kenyan investigation and legal proceedings are fully supported.
I have to be honest with you say I’m not immediately clear right now on the extradition arrangements between the UK and Kenya.
But absolutely everybody in the UK government is aware of how Agnes’ case has affected the Kenyan public. And we want you to know that we take that very seriously. We want justice to be done for her.
Daily Nation: Also the Kenyan Parliament session yesterday said that the suspects are not tried in Kenya and they are not going to be (very unclear).
MinAF: Well, your parliament is sovereign and your Parliamentarians may make whatever judgement they wish to make. I think that that would cause a lot of problems for the people that I’ve met with this evening.
Because the message that I got from them was very clear. They in their community are angry about what happened to Agnes, they are angry that there are allegations that British service people were involved in that murder.
But at the same time, they recognize that BATUK here in Nanyuki and Laikipia County is a big source of employment. It brings lots of value to the local economy.
And so the message that I just had from the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce here in Nanyuki is, please don’t shut the gates, please don’t keep yourself to yourselves, stay, keep investing in our community, because the jobs that you create and the businesses that we support, really valuing. Now, that is a balance.
That doesn’t mean that I take Agnes this case any less seriously. It is my top priority right now we need to get things moving with the investigation and the UK MoD needs to make sure that we’re providing all the information necessary.
But I will also say to my parliamentary colleagues here in Kenya, that they need to listen to the business people here in the community, and Nanyuki, who see the value of BATUK can see the value of our training mission here.
And they need to speak to the Kenyan Armed Forces, the Kenyan Air Force, and the Kenyan Navy, who are benefiting from working alongside the British Army, the Royal Air Force, and the Royal Navy. The UK-Kenya relationship is big, it is important for the strategy and a part of Africa that is looking increasingly uncertain, and unstable. I get politics.
I’m a politician too. But I hope that they can see the bigger picture. And then we can prioritise justice for Agnes, not politics.
Daily Nation: Why did you think (ask) for a media intimacy for the British government, to address the growing cases of misconduct from their people, and especially in foreign countries? And what specific actions have you taken?
MinAF: Well, why has it taken so long, I think is something that we should all reflect on. There are parts of the delay that are made here in Kenya, and there are parts of the delay that are made in London.
I know that politicians in both countries will want to ask some very challenging questions of ourselves and our officials to understand why this has taken so long.
What happens now from the UK part is that the Secretary of State Defence has been absolutely clear with the Chief of the General Staff who leads the British army, with the Provost Marshall who was responsible for policing within the British armed forces, that there will be no delay whatsoever in providing whatever evidence is asked for by the Kenyan investigation.
And I know because one of the suspects in the case is no longer serving in the British armed forces, that the British civilian police, the Lancashire Police, are also involved in the investigation.
They too, are aware of the importance and they too are acting with all speed to make sure there’s no further delay. I’m certain.
Daily Nation: Asking conservatively, how many suspects from your side and when expedition (extradition) happens? How many suspects that you're going to bring here for prosecution?
MinAF: I’m not at liberty, I hope you forgive me. I hope you’ll understand why it would be inappropriate for me to comment on an ongoing investigation.
I can answer all of your questions about the urgency, I can answer all your questions about the importance that we place on it within the UK Ministry of Defence.
But given that we’ve waited for nine years for this to come to justice, the last thing that I would want to do now is to misspeak and say something silly that then prejudices a court case, which means that justice ends up not being possible.
Sky News: So what would the UK Government do to ensure that incidents such as this do not occur? Again, not only here, but in other places where your Armed Forces have a presence?
MinAF: The easiest answer, and I have to say that it was our immediate answer in the MoD in London, is that we should say to the commander here in BATUK, lock the gates keep the troops behind the wire, don’t let them out.
So none of this can happen again. But that’s not partnership. That’s not what Kenyan businesses want here in Nanyuki, they want to be able to do business with our troops.
So actually, I’m afraid the answer is much more complicated. Because what this answer is about saying to our armed forces, that when they come here to train, the mind-set needs to be the same as when they operate.
I’m very proud of the way the British armed forces operate in some very challenging parts of the world, as they are on the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali right now.
They trained and they understand that they need to respect all parts of community, men, women, children, but they must live the values that they are standing up for when they’re there with the blue beret of the UN, on their head.
And actually, when they come here to train, the mind-set should be no different.
Those who we have the privilege to meet in the community here in Nanyuki, our hosts here in Kenya need to be respected in exactly the same way as we would do if we were on operations and hope that we can make that message clear to everybody within the Army, Navy and Air Force, that their behavior here reflects the United Kingdom, their behaviour here reflects the traditions of the British armed forces.
And that what’s happened here, what is alleged to have happened here, frankly, has let down the British armed forces and we want to rebuild those relationships, rebuild trust, because the UK-Kenya relationship is so important to both countries, in a region where right now, this relationship needs to be working hard to deliver stability in East Africa.
And I think that everybody involved needs to sort of just make sure that that’s the priority, and that we just respect each other. And we make sure we get this right in the future.
Sky News: Do you think it was a cover up? You said that senior military officials knew that this case happened, but it's taken nine years to get here?
MinAF: I honestly don’t know. To be completely honest with you. But I am making damn sure that I find out.
