Some soldiers using sexual workers despite the ban, the inquiry finds

An investigation by the British army has found some soldiers located on a controversial basis in Kenya, they continue to use sexual workers, although they were forbidden to do so.

Soldiers in the British Army Department Kenya (Batuk) used sexual workers “at a low or moderate” level, a report said, adding that more work was needed to print the practice.

The investigation covered a period of more than two years, considering behavior in the July 2022 base.

It was commissioned in October 2024 after an ITV investigation into the behavior of soldiers in Batuk, including allegations that some army officials pay local women for sex.

ITV’s documentary followed previous fears about Batuk after his death in 2012 by a local woman Agnes Vanjiru, who is said to have been killed by a British soldier located at the base.

Since then, a series of allegations of troops at the training ground, which is located near the town of Nanyuki, has been made, 200 km (125 miles) north of Kenya Nairobi.

In 2022, the United Kingdom Department of Defense banned its powers from using sexual workers abroad as part of efforts to limit sexual exploitation and abuse of military.

The United Kingdom Defense Chief Gen. Sir Raleley Walker said in a statement that the army was committed to stopping sexual exploitation from those in his ranks.

“The findings of the investigation of the service in which I ordered, come to the conclusion that transaction sex is still happening in Kenya at a low to moderate level. This should not happen at all,” he said.

“There is absolutely no place for sexual exploitation and abuse by the British Army. It is in complete controversial what it means to be a British soldier. He prey to the vulnerable and take advantage of those who seek to profit from abuse and exploitation,” he added.

Investigation for service request was carried out by a group of four people, including two employees, a civil servant and an independent advisor.

He examines the behavior of troops located in Batuk and evaluates the army’s systems to prevent the violations of its JSP 769 regulation, which forbids soldiers from paying for sex.

The report describes in detail 35 cases suspected that Batuk’s soldiers had paid for sex, as the rules for soldiers under the rule were published in July 2022. During this period, 7 666 British soldiers served at the base.

He notes that 26 cases occurred before the training under the new rule for all army officials in November of the same year, with nine reporting the cases since then. In the bigger part of the cases, the claim that the soldiers paid for sex have never been proven.

In addition to those described in detail in the report, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the BBC that there is a small number – less than five cases of alleged use of sexual workers who are currently investigated. The alleged incidents occurred after the investigation was completed.

The report states that despite the training given by the army and control measures, the reality is that “transaction sexual activity” by the UK staff in Kenya is still happening and that “the level is somewhere between low and moderate.”

“It’s not out of control, but the best way to manage the risk is the army is to accept that it may be at the top of this scale between low and moderate,” the report added.

The report notes the army’s efforts to print the practice, including regular training and use of Sharkwatch patrols with a Sargeant Rank senior officer or above, to monitor junior staff when they leave the dinner base.

The army said it would implement the reports from the report, including facilitating the rejection of soldiers who were found to have used sex workers and the application of additional training.

The report follows years of disputes over the behavior of soldiers in Batuk, caused by an investigation by Sunday Times in 2021, which reveals the alleged participation of a British soldier in the murder of G -Ja Wanjiru, the mother of a man whose body was found in a septic tank near a hotel where he was seen with soldiers.

In Kenya, MPs are investigating wider allegations of abuse of local people from soldiers in Batuk and heard claims of public hearing about injuries, which are said to have suffered through the behavior of British troops and the soldiers who have parted children to the Kenyan mothers and then gings.

In June this year, a soldier located at the base was sent back to the UK after being accused of rape.

The investigation of the service behind the latest report is said to have spoken with many local Kenyans and found that the “vast majority” of locals were satisfied with the presence of the Batuk camp.