Kenyan victims recount pain and suffering in hearings on British army abuses

Kenyan parliamentarians visited Laikipia and Samburu counties last week, where residents attributed the deaths of their loved ones to unattended explosives near British training camps, among other reported abuses. 

The Parliamentary Committee on Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations conducted visits to the counties to listen to the grievances of the locals and investigate the mistreatments. 

Chaired by Belgut MP Nelson Koech, the committee heard firsthand accounts, including that of Lioska Lesasuyan, who lost his eyesight and both arms at age 13 after unknowingly handling a British army explosive device. 

More testimonies were shared in Nanyuki, Kenya, before a crowd comprising community members and local politicians, shedding light on the treatment of locals by the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK), situated just a short distance from their substantial base.

Another victim, Charles Ngare, recounted how he was injured while assisting the British army, only to be left at the hospital with no support. 

The British army asked Charles Ngare to assist them in pulling their Land Rover out of a ditch while he was walking home. The vehicle, however, slid and crushed him, breaking his leg.

He claimed that the soldiers dumped him at the hospital, and pretended they had found him lying by the roadside. 

Local residents spoke on the first of three days of public hearings held by the Kenyan government until last Thursday to "investigate the allegations of human rights violations, including mistreatment, torture, unlawful detention, and killings" by the BATUK. 

The British army is expected to present its defence later on.

Meanwhile, after years of grievances, the Committee on Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations is finally getting involved in the matter that has attracted global attention.

Meanwhile, a 12-page report by lawyer Kelvin Kubai Mugambi, seen by the Eastleigh Voice, highlights the grave effects of the British army on civilians and the environment.

"Since the beginning of their activities in Kenya, and despite the presence of a binding agreement, the BATUK have committed several unspeakable atrocities to the people of the Republic of Kenya, and to the environment in general. The sovereignty of the people of Kenya as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 has constantly been put under threat," read the report submitted to the parliamentary committee on May 28, ahead of the public hearings.

It added, "The right to human life and the sanctity of such life as provided for under our Constitution have been undermined, and the right to a clean and healthy environment has been abused beyond measure."

The report also highlighted the damage that has been caused to the wildlife and birds resulting from the noise of exploding bombs in the area.

"No independent survey has been carried out to show the effects of these exercises on biodiversity," the report read.

In 2003, Kenya's parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Rights concluded that the problem of "human-wildlife conflict in Daiga areas of Laikipia district is severe."

According to the report, the community, which has been the victim of the problem, has become impoverished and has not received any meaningful assistance.

20 years later, no one has built a proper fence around the Lolldaiga conservancy. Activists lament that the responsibility has been shoved over to the Kenyan taxpayers through a compensation module that takes every liability from the very owners of the conservancies, who take all the credits from the benefits that accrue from tourism.