An official British Army investigation confirmed soldiers continued paying for sex at the Kenya-based British Army Training Unit (BATUK), despite a comprehensive 2022 Ministry of Defence ban prohibiting “all sexual activity which involves the abuse of power, including buying sex whilst abroad.”
The inquiry, commissioned by Chief of General Staff Roly Walker following rape allegations, identified 35 suspected instances of transactional sex between October 2022 and March 2025. Of these, nine incidents occurred after service-wide training on the prohibition was implemented in November 2022.
“It should not be happening at all. [There is] absolutely no place for sexual exploitation and abuse by people in the British Army,” Walker stated.
In response, the Army is introducing compulsory ethics training and streamlined dismissal procedures for violators.
The report emerges against a backdrop of longstanding misconduct concerns in Nanyuki. Most notably, the unresolved 2012 murder of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru, last seen with British soldiers before her body was found in a septic tank, remains a festering wound.
While a 2019 inquest concluded British soldiers murdered Wanjiru, no charges have followed despite Kenyan prosecutors receiving an investigative file in April 2025. Defence Secretary John Healey met Wanjiru’s family during a Kenya visit, signalling ongoing diplomatic pressure.
The UK-Kenya defence pact permitting thousands of British troops to train annually now faces scrutiny. With 7,666 personnel rotating through BATUK during the investigation period alone, critics argue the “low to moderate” transactional sex incidence reflects institutional tolerance of exploitation.
