British troops at the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk) will resume their operations in Nanyuki starting January 2021.
The troops left the base in Nanyuki in March following the confirmation of Kenya’s first case of coronavirus. They cited their safety and that of their families as the number of infections continued to increase.
Now, British the High Commission said that they will redeploy the troops back to Kenya since the COVID-19 curve is flattening.
“Some of the staffers are already back because we have seen the Covid-19 numbers go down. So we are ready to resume training with our Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) partners,” Deputy British High Commissioner Julius Court said in a statement.
Defence Advisor to the British High Commission Brigadier Mark Thornhill also confirmed that Batuk will land in Nanyuki training base in January.
Batuk has been training alongside the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) at the Loldaiga Hills where the weather pattern is erratic, hot and has some tough terrains ideal for training.
This training has about 1,700 Batuk troops and 300 KDF troops.
At the Nyati Barracks in Nanyuki Town, Batuk has been upping their skills here.
In September, the Kenyan government signed a collaboration agreement for joint military training between Batuk and KDF with the focus of how to respond to an enemy in combat.
Since 2018, there have been 10 joint British-KDF military training programmes with an estimated 1,500 Kenyan soldiers participating.
Batuk’s presence in Laikipia has bolstered the economy of Nanyuki town by creating job opportunities for the local community.
