A British soldier who allegedly raped a woman close to a controversial army camp in Kenya has been transferred back to the UK, as investigations into the incident continue.
The alleged sexual assault unfolded back in May near the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) near the town of Nanyuki, 200km (125 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi, per the BBC.
The soldier in question was arrested and interrogated after the alleged incident, which occurred following a group of soldiers visiting a bar in the community.
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UK police say an investigation is being carried out by the Defence Serious Crime Unit, which looks into crimes allegedly committed by British service personnel in the UK and overseas.
A statement also put out by the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that a “service person” in Kenya had been arrested.
“Unacceptable and criminal behaviour has absolutely no place in our Armed Forces and any reporting of a serious crime by serving personnel is investigated independently from their chain of command,” the MoD said.
The alleged rape involving a soldier from the British base in Kenya comes after previous allegations that a soldier in Kenya played a part in the murder of a local woman back in 2012.
The local woman, Agnes Wanjiru, was 21 and a mother of one and was discovered in a septic tank near the Batuk base three weeks after she disappeared.
This discovery was allegedly made after she spent the evening with British soldiers.
According to the UK-based Sunday Times newspaper, in 2021, a British soldier was believed to have committed the murder.
Since then, the MoD revealed it was cooperating with a Kenyan investigation into the incident.
It was back in 1964 that the Batuk base was established, shortly after Kenya gained independence from the UK.
The UK military has an agreement with Kenya to deploy up to six army battalions a year for training periods at the site.
However, the conduct of some UK personnel at the camp is one that has had the British army facing a string of allegations.
A public inquiry set up by Kenyan MPs in 2024 heard details of the alleged mistreatment of local people by these British soldiers.
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The allegations included a reported hit-and-run incident, while many alleged that some British soldiers had got local women pregnant before abandoning them and their children when they returned to the UK.
