British troops stranded in Kenya as diplomatic row escalates

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta

By Ben Farmer, Defence Correspondent and Mike Pflanz in Nairobi; 26 Jun 2014

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Delays in "diplomatic clearance" for British military training in Kenya are believed to be retaliation for the UK tightening travel advice to the country

Around 700 British soldiers are stranded in Kenya after Nairobi held up diplomatic permits for troops, as a row with London over UK travel advice for the country appeared to escalate.

Soldiers have been stuck in the country for several days after completing infantry training because the Kenyan government has delayed “diplomatic clearance” for their replacements to take over from them.

Sources said Nairobi was delaying clearance for troops from 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, to fly into the country, in what diplomats believe is a rebuke for Britain tightening travel advice to the East African nation.

The delay means troops from the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, who have finished training and were due to fly out on the planes delivering the Paras, have been stranded.

Diplomatic relations between London and Nairobi have been tested since Uhuru Kenyatta, the president, came to power alleging that Britain backed his rival, Raila Odinga.

“There has been a delay that we became aware of in the middle of last week in the receipt of diplomatic clearance from the Kenyan authorities for these troops,” said a spokesman for the British High Commission in Nairobi. "We hope this will be resolved shortly."

British troops have for many years cycled through Kenya for infantry training. A regular agreement between the two countries on the arrangement is not due for renewal for another two years, but it has become contentious in some Kenyan circles.

Nationalist elements of Mr Kenyatta’s party criticise his government for failing to withdraw the permission for the training as a reprimand for Britain’s perceived favouritism towards the opposition coalition.

One defence source said Britain may now have to charter extra flights to get the stranded troops back from the UK’s training base in the central Kenyan town of Nanyuki.

He said: “3 Rifles have finished and are trying to get back. We are looking at options to do it.”

Recent warnings that Mombasa, Kenya’s second city, and some nearby beaches popular with Western tourists were no longer safe for Britons to visit were seen as further examples of British attempts to undermine Mr Kenyatta.

One security source in Nanyuki said: “It’s not clear why the paperwork’s being held up [for the soldiers] but it’s very hard to think it’s coincidence at a time when the Kenyans are pretty annoyed at the travel advisories and all the earlier stuff.”

“There is hope that this will be sorted out soon,” another source with knowledge of the discussions said. “But I think that the Kenyans might get a surprise, and pretty quickly, if they silly-bugger around on this for too long.”

British military cooperation with Kenya is worth £58 million a year, most of which flows directly into the local economy, largely in and around Nanyuki, Christian Turner, the High Commissioner, said at a speech at the Queen’s Birthday Party in Nairobi last week.

An MoD spokesman said: “The UK has a long-standing, mutually beneficial, defence relationship with Kenya and we hope that the delay in receipt of diplomatic clearances from the Kenyan authorities will be resolved shortly."