A parliamentary committee is now pushing for top officials of the British Army Training Unit (Batuk) to appear before it over alleged atrocities committed during their operations in the country.
This comes as the Ministry of Defence defended itself against claims that it was shielding Batuk officers from facing the committee.
Speaking during a session with Defence Principal Secretary Patrick Mariru, the chairperson of the Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee, Nelson Koech, stressed the need for the British Army officers to appear for questioning.
He said their testimony is crucial to an ongoing probe into historical human rights violations, including sexual violence and killings.
“In the event of any investigation, Batuk is required to comply with the Kenyan Constitution, which grants us the authority to summon them. There is nothing unprocedural about it. They must appear; failure to do so will compel us to invoke the privileges provided for,” said Koech.
Notably, the Ministry of Defence had expressed reservations about Batuk officers appearing physically before the committee, arguing that there is a specific procedure to be followed in the House team’s efforts to gather information for the probe.
Mariru maintained that the committee should engage the Intergovernmental Liaison Committee (IGLC), a body tasked with resolving disputes related to Batuk’s activities in Kenya, instead of issuing direct summons to the officers.
“The summoning of Batuk officers might strain our relationship with the British. The IGLC cannot impede the work of Parliament. All we are questioning is the route being used to obtain the information,” said Mariru.
However, the committee’s Vice Chairperson, Bashir Abdullahi, cautioned the Ministry against appearing as a stumbling block in Parliament’s pursuit of justice and urged it to step back and allow the officers to appear.
Saboti MP Caleb Amisi dismissed the assertion that the committee must go through IGLC, noting that their appearance before the committee was also informed by international best diplomatic practices.
“They will be coming here to give us crucial information and are not appearing before us as accused persons,” he said.
The lawmakers are probing alleged misconduct by Batuk, including corruption, fraud, discrimination, abuse of power, and other unethical practices.
