Kenya challenges British military immunity over alleged abuses in Samburu County

October 3, 2026 at 06:18 PM2 min

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Kenyan survivors are seeking accountability for alleged abuses linked to British military training in northern Kenya, challenging immunity that has kept cases from court. Noldonyo Piro says a soldier broke her arm and sexually assaulted her the same day her sister Mantoi Lekoloi Kaunda was killed, an assault for which no one has ever been charged.

Key Facts

Noldonyo Piro says a British soldier broke her arm and sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s near Archer's Post, Samburu County.
Piro's sister Mantoi Lekoloi Kaunda, 16 and about six months pregnant, was killed the same day; no one has ever been charged.
Their father, the late Kaunda Lekoloi, found Mantoi's body covered in blood with two sets of soldiers' boot prints in the dust.
British soldiers had long trained on the outskirts of Archer's Post before the alleged attack.

The Alleged Attack

Noldonyo Piro, then about 15, and her sister Mantoi Lekoloi Kaunda, 16, were herding livestock near Archer's Post when white soldiers approached from behind. Piro says one soldier chased her, hit her on the back of the head, and stood on her arm until it snapped and broke. She says the soldier then raped her until she passed out; when she regained consciousness, she was covered in blood. Nearby, her sister Mantoi lay lifeless with her eyes closed. Their father, Kaunda Lekoloi, later told ITV that Piro was shouting 'problem, problem' and said the white men had attacked them.

The Aftermath

Kaunda Lekoloi found Mantoi's body covered in blood, with two sets of soldiers' boot prints in the dust. He carried his daughter's body home on a donkey and buried her the next morning. Piro says there was no police post within reach, and reporting an attack by men in foreign uniforms was unlikely to lead anywhere. No one has ever been charged for the assault on Piro or the killing of Mantoi.