The National Assembly Committee on Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations Chairperson, Nelson Koech, has expressed confidence that Kenya-UK relations will remain strong despite the lingering impasse over the renewal of licenses for military training exercises.
Speaking to the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme on Friday night, Koech echoed earlier remarks by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi that the Kenya-UK Defence Cooperation Agreement is undergoing the requisite parliamentary process before his committee in line with the country’s constitutional and legislative requirements.
“This is how relationships are built wider; it is about agreeing, it is about respect for the constitution, respect for human life, it is about mutual agreements that benefit both countries. We are not trying to be a hindrance; I am sure there have been communications. Actually, I have been reaching out personally to the team from the High Commission trying to see how we can unlock this situation. What has happened is that the Duke of Lancaster regiment training that was to start in September has been affected. We are trying as much as possible to see if there is a possibility of reversing it,” he said.
Following the delay in renewal of the necessary training licenses and ratification of the bilateral defence cooperation agreement, the UK cancelled the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment planned military exercise earlier scheduled to kick off in September in Laikipia.
In a statement, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said the exercise will now be conducted at an alternative location outside Kenya.
“All UK training activity in Kenya is dependent on the permission from the Government of Kenya. We remain committed to our defence partnership with Kenya and will continue to engage closely with the Kenyan Government to support the resumption of training at the earliest appropriate opportunity,” the Ministry spokesperson added.
The Government has maintained that the defence pact has not been terminated and that the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) arrangement is still on.
“Kenya remains committed to resolving all outstanding matters through the established diplomatic and institutional channels. We look forward to an amicable conclusion of the bilateral defence cooperation framework for the mutual benefit of both countries,” Mudavadi added.
Koech added that the issues that have led to the delay in renewing the licenses are those that came up during his committee’s inquiry into the grievances that communities surrounding the training unit reported.
“The human rights concerns have been issues of rape, environmental degradation, issues of murder, some that have been proven, some that are under investigation, and of course one that is major, and was sensational, that of Agnes Wanjiru. To date, the culprit has never been brought back. There was a court ruling that he was to be repatriated back to the country to face trial, but that has not been forthcoming and many other issues... As a committee, we are trying to make sure there has to be accountability on the officers and troops that visit our country,” he told the BBC.
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