British troops who commit crimes while training in Kenya will be put on trial in Kenya after lawmakers amended a defence cooperation pact between Nairobi and London.
The National Assembly has approved the Ratification of the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between the Kenyan Government and the governments of the Republic of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland subject to amendments.
The Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee amended the draft agreement to include murder as a triable offence under the jurisdiction of the host Nation.
This means that visiting UK troops who commit the offence on Kenyan soil will be prosecuted under Kenya law.
The original draft agreement, while subjecting the visiting forces to the laws of the host nation, grants the authorities of the visiting forces primary jurisdiction to try offences arising out of official duty.
“The committee recommends that…the House adopts and approve the Ratification of Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between the Kenyan Government and the governments of the Republic of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland with reservations that the agreement should be amended to…include murder as one of the offences which are under the jurisdiction of the host nation,” Nelson Koech who chairs the committee said in the report.
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has been cooperating with the UK forces primarily in the defence industry, training support and exchange of students in military institutions.
Under the current agreement, the UK has provided annual training for over 1,100 KDF soldiers, with courses in Britain or with UK military training teams in Kenya.
