The UK government has agreed to pay compensation to thousands of Kenyans affected by a fire started during a British Army training exercise in 2021.
The out-of-court settlement comes after years of legal action by 7,723 claimants who said they lost property and suffered health issues following the blaze at the Lolldaiga conservancy in Kenya’s Rift Valley.
A spokesperson for the British High Commission in Nairobi described the fire as “extremely regrettable” and said the UK had dedicated “considerable time, effort and resource” to resolving the claims.
Although the British government has not confirmed the figure, lawyers representing the claimants told the BBC that the payout amounted to £2.9 million. Lead lawyer Kevin Kubai said it was the “best possible outcome” despite many victims feeling the compensation was far too small for their losses. He explained that proving the cases individually could have taken nearly seven more years, with much of the evidence already lost.
Kubai acknowledged the challenges in substantiating health claims, noting that his clients did not have medical records linking illnesses to the fire and were already exposed to smoke from cooking with firewood.
The UK Ministry of Defence previously said the fire was likely started when a camp stove was knocked over during a training exercise. Around 7,000 acres (2,800 hectares) of private land were destroyed, though no community land was directly affected.
Legal action argued that the fire caused significant environmental damage, worsened air quality in surrounding communities, and destroyed property as wild animals stampeded through villages.
The British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) continues to carry out large-scale exercises at Lolldaiga. The UK government has contributed to the restoration of the damaged area, but the presence of British troops remains controversial.
The 49,000-acre Lolldaiga conservancy, with sweeping views of Mount Kenya, is part of the Laikipia plateau – an area with a legacy of land disputes dating back to the colonial era. It lies just 70 km from the Lewa conservancy, where Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton in 2010.
Nearby, the newly refurbished Nyati Barracks – a £70 million facility – serves as the hub for thousands of British troops training annually. Batuk is estimated to contribute tens of millions of pounds to the Kenyan economy each year.
However, the presence of British soldiers has repeatedly been mired in controversy. Allegations over the years have included fatal hit-and-run incidents, sexual exploitation of Kenyan women, and even murder cases.
