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{
    "id": 1229423,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1229423/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 167,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Belgut, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Nelson Koech",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Defence Co- operation. The defence agreement provides a framework for exchange, sharing and utilisation of respective State’s experience, knowledge, military facility and infrastructure. This will be instrumental in strengthening the bilateral relations between the two States. Just to bring Hon. Members up to speed, there is an agreement between Kenya and the United Kingdom on matters of defence. Right now, we have an exchange programme. Most of our officers are taken for training in the United Kingdom under this exchange programme. Allowing the United Kingdom to train their soldiers in Kenya has enabled our officers to be trained alongside the officers that are trained by the United Kingdom Government under the United Kingdom jurisdiction. As we talk, we have an officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ali, who is a Director directing staff in the United Kingdom. That will help in advancing Kenya and its officers in the region in terms of training. That is part of what is in this agreement. The agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kenya and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Defence Co-operation was signed on 27th July 2021 and replaces the previous Defence Co-operation Agreement signed in 2015 and which expired on 6th October 2021. Through a letter dated 6th September 2021, the then Cabinet Secretary for Defence, Dr Monica Juma, submitted to the House for approval, a copy of the agreement. It was subsequently committed to the then Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations on 8th September, 2021. The Committee was expected to consider the Agreement and recommend its approval by the House with or without reservations pursuant to Section 8(4) of the Treaty Making and Ratification Act (No. 45 of 2012). As I mention that, going forward, it is important for this House to look at the Treaty and the ratification Act. It does not give Hon. Members the opportunity to make any changes. It is the responsibility of Hon. Members in this House and in the committees of this House to look at all the agreements that are made on behalf of the people of this country and make sure that their proposals and inputs are captured in those agreements. So, it is important to have a mental note that, as we move forward, we may need to consider and look at the Treaty Making and Ratification Act. It is prohibitive and unnecessary with its current structure. When the Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations of the 12th Parliament was considering the Agreement with a view to facilitating ratification, the County Government of Laikipia, where the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) is based, submitted a memorandum raising serious concerns on the defence co-operation between Kenya and the UK. The county government stated that since the beginning of their activities in Kenya, and despite the presence of binding agreements, BATUK had committed several atrocities to the people of the Republic of Kenya and to the environment in general. The County Government of Laikipia cited the following examples: Loldaiga Hills Conservancy fire incident and the murder of Agnes Wanjiku Wanjiru allegedly by BATUK soldiers. This was a chilling experience for me. I interacted with this bit in the last Parliament. The murder of Agnes Wanjiru is something that many of us would wish that it goes away. As a Committee, we have decided that we must provide justice to this family. Agnes Wanjiru was a 21-year-old lady who died brutally. We believe that she was murdered by the British Army. She had a five-year-old child at that time. The Kenyan Government rushed to investigate but the United Kingdom Government and the Army decided to brush the matter under the carpet and we said that was not just. As a Committee, we looked at it and decided to view it differently by reversing roles. We imagined what would have been the case if Agnes Wanjiru had killed a white solder."
}