UK soldier accused of raping British woman in Kenya

A UK soldier accused of raping a woman near a controversial British army base in Kenya allegedly attacked a British national, not a Kenyan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed.

In a statement the military said the man had been arrested and sent back to the UK following the alleged incident last month near the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk).

The allegation is being investigated by the UK military, which has jurisdiction over the matter, and does not involve Kenyan police.

The alleged rape is the latest allegation of misconduct made against British soldiers at Batuk, which is near the town of Nanyuki around 200km (125 miles) north of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

A MoD spokesperson said: “We can confirm the arrest of a British service person in Kenya in relation to a report of a sexual offence. The service person has been repatriated to the UK and the victim is a British adult, not a Kenyan.

“The matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the UK Defence Serious Crime Command, in accordance with the Defence Co-operation Agreement between the UK and Kenya and we will not comment further.”

A UK soldier has previously been accused of murdering a local woman, Agnes Wanjiru, whose body was found dumped in a septic tank in 2012.

The UK has said it is co-operating with a Kenyan investigation into her death.

The Batuk base was established in 1964 shortly after the East African nation gained independence from the UK.

The UK military has an agreement with Kenya under which it can deploy up to six army battalions a year for periods of training at the site.

But the British army has faced a string of allegations about the conduct of some UK personnel at the camp.

A public inquiry set up by Kenyan MPs last year heard details of alleged mistreatment of local people by British soldiers.

The allegations included a reported hit-and-run incident, as well as claims that some British soldiers had got local women pregnant before abandoning them and their children when they returned to the UK.