Kenyatta`s Administration Can Prohibit British Army to Train in Kenya

Such an unexpected president`s verdict can stop a long-termed military relationship between the UK and Kenya as British Army has been conducting training in Kenya since 1945. Yearly, the Kenya economy gets almost 60 million pounds from such collaboration. 

The newest Uhuru Kenyatta`s administration order can force hundreds of thousands of British soldiers not to be able to continue training in Kenya on a regular basis. It can happen because the owners of eleven private ranches located in the Laikipia region north of the Mountain Kenya are against it. 

British troops can also be restricted to enter public lands which the Kenyan armed forces use in the Archer's Post area of Samburu. According to British Army spokesman, its troops would still keep on training together with the Kenyan Defence Forces at their principle training fields. 

Analysts say that all British attempts to shed light on this issue have still brought no results. So, for now, it is still indistinct whether such a decision was taken because of Kenyatta`s administration obstruction or due to long-lasting political chaos in Kenya. Kenya has experienced two presidential elections for three past months. According to the UK journalists, such turmoil really stressed the country very much leading to the fact that many government decisions cannot just be explained in any possible way. 

Besides, local government chiefs have started to object the British Army using privately-owned ranches, because money for using their locations for training purposes go to the ranch proprietors but not to the Kenyan government. 

It also should be admitted that relations between the British and Kenyan governments have been weighed down recently. Everything started when the current president was elected for the first time in 2013. Uhuru Kenyatta was mad with Britain for supporting the International Criminal Court, which charged the president and his deputy with severe offenses connected with violence that blew up after the presidential election in 2007. At that time, more than 1,300 people were murdered, and almost 500,000 were forced to run away.

Source: Tuko Breaking News. 

Oleinik Andrei