The Kenyans win a case to prove the UK soldiers are their fathers

Seven Kenya people have won a case at the London Family Court to prove that they were raised by British men working at an army base in their country.

To identify otherwise unknown fathers available on the commercial network. Six served in the British Army training department in Kenya (Batuk) and one worked as a contractor.

This is the first time paternity has been proven in this way in the United Kingdom Court.

The decision opens the door to the offspring to apply for British citizenship.

They were represented by British lawyer James Neto, who – together with the leading geneticist Denise Sydromb court – participated in a project to collect DNA samples and testimonies from people in the Nanyuki area in Kenya.

They came across many people there who believed that their fathers served in the nearby Batuk, the biggest British army base in Africa.

The DNA databases were then used publicly available to try to find all family members in the UK.

One of the plaintiffs, Peter Vampugu, told the BBC that he grew up, knowing that his father was a British soldier, but said they had never met. The 33-year-old chef said he had been harassed throughout his childhood because of a mixed race.

Peter said his mother told him that his father was “a good man.” He added, “She told me he told me he would be back one day, but he never came.”

Since then, he has reunited with his father, who claims he has no idea he has a son. After his first meeting, Peter told the BBC: “So all the pain I wear all these 30 years, all the discrimination I get from people, this pain came out as joy.”

Another claimant who cannot be identified for legal reasons said she met her father once at the age of four and then never again. She said that growing up without it was difficult and that she feels extremely abandoned.

Responding to the decision, James Neto said: “For many families, today’s rumor marks the end of an incredibly difficult journey that has been impossible for so long. The children and young people who have only had questions before have answers.”

He said there are many more people near Batuk in a similar situation, and the next step was to deal with more difficult cases – those who have little or no information about fathers or family members.

Andrew McLeode – a lawyer and a campaign participating in the DNA project – said he hoped that today’s case will encourage the Ministry of Defense to take more responsibility for paternity claims against Batuk ServiceMen.

The Ministry of Defense told the BBC that “While claims to paternity against the staff of the United Kingdom are a problem with privacy, the government cooperates with local children’s maintenance bodies where paternity has been claimed.”

The BBC has been following this story over the last year as part of the forthcoming five -piece Secrets sub -core.