A planned British military training exercise scheduled for Laikipia in September has been moved outside Kenya after the licences required for the exercise were not issued, the UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

The relocation follows delays in renewing the Kenya-UK Defence Cooperation Agreement, which provides the legal framework for the operations of the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) based in Nanyuki. The previous agreement expired in October 2021 and is yet to be replaced.

In a statement, a UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the exercise would no longer take place in Kenya.

“It is with regret that the necessary licences required to allow training to take place in Laikipia later this year have not been forthcoming. As a result, the planned training will now be conducted at an alternative location outside Kenya,” UK stated.

The ministry said it remains committed to its defence partnership with Kenya and the continued presence of BATUK.

“We will continue to engage closely with the Kenyan government to support the resumption of training in country at the earliest appropriate opportunity,” UK added.

Defence agreement yet to be renewed

The delay in renewing the defence cooperation agreement has centred on provisions relating to legal jurisdiction.

The National Assembly’s Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee recommended approval of a revised agreement tabled in 2021 but called for amendments to ensure Kenya exercises jurisdiction over serious offences, including murder.

Committee chairperson Nelson Koech said the matter remains a key issue in the negotiations.

“We insist murder must be tried here. It is really an issue of jurisdiction,” Koech said.

The committee’s position has been shaped in part by the case of Agnes Wanjiru, whose body was recovered from a septic tank in Nanyuki in 2012.

A former British soldier, Robert James Purkiss, was arrested in the United Kingdom in November 2025 following the issuance of an arrest warrant and has indicated he will contest extradition to Kenya. He denies the charge.

The UK Ministry of Defence also acknowledged that relocating the September exercise will have economic implications for communities that benefit from military training activities in Laikipia.

BATUK under scrutiny

The relocation comes as BATUK continues to face public scrutiny over past incidents linked to British military activities in Kenya.

During a visit to Laikipia on July 14, British High Commissioner Matt Baugh acknowledged previous shortcomings and said the United Kingdom was committed to addressing concerns raised by local communities.

“We are the first to acknowledge that people have been abused, some have lost their lives, the environment has been damaged, and that standards have not been as high as we would have wanted them to have been historically,” Baugh said.

He said the British government would continue engaging affected communities while supporting investigations into reported incidents.

A parliamentary inquiry published in December 2025 examined issues including sexual misconduct, abandoned children, unexploded ordnance and environmental damage linked to British military exercises.

Separately, the UK government agreed in August 2025 to pay £2.9 million to settle claims arising from a fire that destroyed about 12,000 acres at Lolldaiga Hills during a BATUK training exercise in March 2021.

Despite the delay in renewing the defence agreement, both Kenya and the United Kingdom have maintained that their defence partnership remains important for military cooperation, training between BATUK and the Kenya Defence Forces, employment opportunities and community development programmes.

Negotiations on the new agreement are ongoing as both governments seek to conclude the framework that will guide future defence cooperation.