Britain has agreed to compensate residents living near Kenya’s Lolldaiga conservancy with a payout of £2.9 million ($4 million) following a wildfire triggered during a British army drill in 2021, the plaintiffs’ lawyer confirmed on Friday.
“We reached a settlement and payments have already been dispatched,” lawyer Kelvin Kubai told Reuters, noting that more than 7,000 residents received compensation for the “smoke nuisance” caused by the fire.
The British Army conducts training exercises in Kenya’s Laikipia region from its Nanyuki base. Locals had accused a UK training unit of sparking the March 2021 blaze, which destroyed parts of a nature reserve and left behind ordnance that later harmed villagers.
At the time, a British soldier appeared to admit responsibility in a social media post, prompting the British High Commissioner to express that she was “appalled” and to assure that a Royal Military Police investigation would follow.
