British military inquiry rejects Kenya rape claims

Press Association
Thursday December 14, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

An inquiry into allegations that British soldiers raped more than 2,000 Kenyan women found no reliable evidence to support a criminal prosecution, the government said today.

The investigation, carried out by the special investigation branch of the Royal Military police, examined the claims and found much of the evidence cited in the cases appeared to have been fabricated.

In a statement today, the Ministry of Defence said the 10-month investigation had concluded there was "no corroborative evidence that would lead to the successful prosecution of a named individual in a UK court".

Impact, a human rights group representing Maasai women in the case, said it would continue its attempts to have the accused men prosecuted.

"There are a number of cases with concrete evidence, and even if the British write a hundred reports, justice must be done," the organisation's Johnson ole Kaunga said.

"They seem to be saying rapes took place but they can't find who did it. They have spent three years and millions ... just to tell us what they have always said. This is a joke."

Mr. Kaunga said Kenyan police were conducting a parallel investigation, but were not available for comment.

The Royal Military police interviewed 2,187 mostly Maasai and Samburu tribeswomen who said they had been sexually assaulted by British troops training in Kenya.

"A large amount of the information provided by the Kenyan police and medical authorities appears to have been fabricated," a spokesman for the MoD said.

The investigation also examined claims that "institutional acquiescence" had led to rape complaints being ignored by the army, but again concluded that there was no case to answer.

The allegations, which date back over 55 years, arose in summer 2003 when several women demonstrated outside the British high commission in Nairobi, claiming their mixed race babies were the result of rapes by British soldiers.

The Adjutant General, Lieutenant General Freddie Viggers - the army's principal personnel officer - said: "The British army has taken these allegations extremely seriously, and they have been extensively and sensitively examined.

"It has been a complex and detailed investigation which has been subject to rigorous internal and external reviews, and all viable lines of inquiry have been pursued."

There are concerns that the findings, which were independently verified by Devon and Cornwall police, will strain relations between Britain and the Kenya, where up to 4,000 British troops undergo training each year.

Gen. Viggers thanked the Kenyan authorities for their cooperation with the inquiry. "The British army greatly values the opportunity to train in Kenya, and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship with our Kenyan counterparts," he said.