British Troops Commit 'More' Abuses? When Did They Stop?
Al Jazeera's report details parliament's concern over British soldiers' training exercises in Kenya, highlighting sexual abuse and environmental destruction. (As if 'training' involves perfecting the art of sexual violence and ecological devastation.) This isn't a new oversight; it's a feature of a system where former colonial powers operate with impunity on historically occupied lands. The
British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) has been implicated in abuses for decades, including the 2012 murder of Agnes Wanjiru by a British soldier and allegations of widespread sexual exploitation, as covered by The Guardian in 2021. The current report treats this as 'more' abuses, implying a previous cessation. But for victims, the abuse is continuous. The pattern of soldiers from a wealthy,
powerful nation treating a less powerful one as their personal playground—and the subsequent legal loopholes and diplomatic stonewalling—is a playbook as old as empire itself. When will the 'training' extend to respecting human rights and sovereignty?