13 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Kenyan National Assembly has given the go-ahead to the defense cooperation agreement with the United Kingdom, which includes the modification of an amendment that will allow crimes by British soldiers committed against Kenyans to be prosecuted.
“Among the recommendations of the National Assembly Defense Committee approved is to amend the agreement to include murder by visiting troops as an offense prosecutable under the jurisdiction of Kenya as the host nation and for Kenya to bring murder charges against the troops. British who commit the crime,” reads a statement from the National Assembly.
In turn, the Lower House has adopted the recommendation that corporate social responsibility be included among the obligations of visiting troops towards the host community.
This decision has taken place after the accusations that the troops that trained in Kenyan territory have committed alleged serious crimes and the failure to obtain justice for them.
A young woman, Agnes Wanjiru, went missing in 2012 after she was seen leaving a Kenyan bar with British soldiers. Nearly three months later, her body was found in the sewage of a hotel. However, no one has yet been brought to justice for the crime.
The British Ministry of Defense has insisted that it has cooperated with Kenyan authorities in the investigation, after allegations of a cover-up were made, the BBC reports.
The chairman of the Kenyan Defense Committee, Nelson Koech, said in an interview with BBC’s Focus on Africa Radio that the objective of the measure is to prevent a case like Wanjiru’s from happening again.
