BY BEN KERRIGAN
David Cameron and Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, have renewed a decades-long deal for British soldiers to train in the country, ending a lengthy diplomatic stand-off.
A diplomatic stand of between the Kenyan government and the UK was ended yesterday after David Cameron and the Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta renewed a deal for British soldiers to train the country. The deal awaiting signature will enable 10,000 troops to train at 2 different basis in Kenya. The multi- million pound deal financed by the Kenyan government equips British soldiers with top rated overseas training facilities to train in the country, and also train the Kenyan army.
The rift between the two countries that seemed to spell the end of their working relationship in terms of arms was because British troops were said to be getting away with serious offences like murder on Kenyan soil, purely because of the military deal between the countries which was preventing the Kenyan government from acting. British soldiers accused of serious crimes were sent back to the UK for trial, which the Kenyan government strongly believed was prejudicing such trials and denying justice to the families of victims in Kenya.
At a meeting between Philip Hammond, the UK foreign secretary, and Mr Kenyatta in March, the Kenyan president issued an ultimatum that soldiers be tried on Kenyan soil rather than returned to the UK for prosecution. The renewal contract was not signed and the old deal was extended instead. The dispute seemed to worsen when 700 British soldiers were stranded in Kenya last year without any form of diplomatic clearance.
βIt is time for us to reset our relationship and put the past behind us,β Mr Cameron said after meeting Mr Kenyatta at the UN General Assembly in New York, not long after visiting Jamaica to pledge money for the building of prisons for Jamaican criminals in the UK. A government spokesperson told eye of media that ” Britain has agreed for soldiers committing offences in Kenya to be tried in the country from now on. The issue of where to face trial was purely a question of jurisdiction, but immunity for crimes has never been something the British government has endorsed”. Other crimes allegedly committed by British soldiers have not been officially stated, though examples of crimes committed by British soldiers on British are replete.
Offences committed by British soldiers on British soil have been reported in the past, though such crimes have also taken place in many other parts of the world. In June this year, police raided the palace barracks near Belfast and arrested soldiers at dawn over cocaine stash found at the army base.