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A British Army investigation has found that some soldiers at the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) continue to pay for sex despite a ban on the practice.
The service inquiry, which examined conduct at the base from July 2022 over a period of more than two years, concluded that the use of sex workers by soldiers remained at a “low to moderate” level. It was commissioned in October 2025 after a British media investigation by ITV alleged that some troops were paying local women for sex.
The base, located near the town of Nanyuki, about 200km (125 miles) north of Nairobi, has long been the subject of controversy, including over the 2012 killing of local woman Agnes Wanjiru, allegedly by a British soldier.
UK Chief of Defence Staff Gen Sir Roly Walker condemned the practice, saying:
“There is absolutely no place for sexual exploitation and abuse by people in the British Army… It preys on the vulnerable and benefits those who seek to profit from abuse and exploitation.”
The report documented 35 suspected cases of soldiers paying for sex since July 2022, involving a small fraction of the 7,666 troops who served there in that time. Most incidents occurred before mandatory training on the ban was rolled out in November 2022. Few allegations were proven.
Despite regular training and patrols by senior officers to monitor soldiers’ conduct off-base, investigators concluded that “transactional sexual activity” persisted and urged the army to assume the problem may be at the higher end of its estimated scale.
The army has pledged to adopt the report’s recommendations, including making it easier to dismiss personnel who use sex workers and strengthening training programmes.
The report comes amid wider scrutiny in Kenya, where MPs are investigating claims of misconduct by Batuk soldiers, including alleged assaults, abandoned children fathered by troops, and a recent rape accusation that led to a soldier being sent back to the UK.
The inquiry also noted that most local residents expressed satisfaction with Batuk’s presence despite the controversies.
