Not a single soldier identified as having engaged in sexual abuse in Kenya has been dismissed despite the British Army's zero tolerance policy on the matter, a BFBS Forces News investigation has found.

BFBS Forces News

The Sennen Enquiry, published in August 2025, identified 35 allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) among personnel serving in Kenya between July 2022 and the production of the report in June 2025.

The zero-tolerance policy

A Ministry of Defence policy known as JSP 769 sets out the British Army's stance on SEA since July 2022.

It states: "Sexual Exploitation and Abuse is unacceptable. Defence considers this to be grounds for termination of employment and/or the discharge from the Armed Forces."

The policy also sets out the requirement to investigate, reading: "In practice, this means that SEA is prohibited and that every alleged transgression will be acted upon through prompt and efficient investigation."

In its FOI response, the Ministry of Defence said it had investigated all 35 allegations of SEA. It would not release the outcome of individual investigations due to protections under employment law and data privacy.

The MOD also said: "Whilst JSP 769 provides a 'zero tolerance to sexual exploitation and abuse' with the general presumption of discharge for anybody found proven of having engaged in SEA, a sanction below termination of service may be applied in exceptional circumstances, if authorised by an officer of 2* rank."

This means in all investigations where SEA was proven, a Major General would have signed off on personnel being granted a sanction below dismissal.

An MOD spokesperson told BFBS Forces News: "Unacceptable and criminal behaviour has absolutely no place in our Armed Forces. The policy on zero tolerance for SEA commits to ensuring that every allegation will be investigated, no matter where the allegation takes place.

"Whilst there is a general presumption of discharge, this is not always the case and a sanction below termination of service may be applied in exceptional circumstances.

"Recommendations from the Service Inquiry SENNEN have been implemented since its conclusion – which includes a mandatory SEA training package before deployment to Kenya and an Army Command Standing Order on SEA policy.

"We keep our approach under continuous review to ensure our zero-tolerance commitment is upheld in practice." 

'Outcomes do not match intent'

Former MP and defence minister Sarah Atherton said the FOI "raises serious questions about how 'zero tolerance' is being applied".

Speaking to BFBS Forces News five years after the publication of the Atherton report, which found the MOD and services were failing to protect female personnel, she said the policy itself was strong, but the reality was "case-by-case tolerance".

"We've seen this before in how 'zero tolerance' is applied across defence when dealing with inappropriate behaviour," she said. "The outcomes do not match the intent.

"The number itself is also striking," she went on. "Only 35 cases suggests a wider weakness in how policy breaches come to light. 

"Under JSP 763, the system relies on whistleblowing and Commanding Officer enforcement. Neither are strong or consistent ways to expose concerns or drive cultural change."

The Sennen Report works on the presumption that SEA is still happening despite the zero tolerance policy, as it is hard to prove given neither the personnel nor sex workers are incentivised to bring the matter forward. 

The report reads: "The reality about the prevalence of transactional sexual activity by UK personnel in Kenya since the implementation of JSP 769 is that it is still happening, that the level is somewhere between low and moderate."

"This is about exploitation, standards and the reputation of the Armed Forces and it goes to the heart of credibility," Ms Atherton said. "A policy applied inconsistently is not a standard – it is a smokescreen."

'Prosecutions, not paperwork'

This FOI comes to light at a critical moment for the UK's military relationship with Kenya, as negotiations take place this year to renew the British Army's five-year defence partnership. 

The last Kenya-UK Defence Cooperation Agreement, signed in 2021, allows up to 10,000 troops a year to train at BATUK in Nanyuki.

In 2023, Kenyan MPs voted to amend the deal to ensure British soldiers could be prosecuted in Kenya for serious crimes including murder. 

The change followed pressure over a lack of progress to find and prosecute the killer of Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old Kenyan woman who went missing in August 2012 after being seen leaving a bar with British soldiers. Her body was later found in a septic tank.

Agnes' niece, Esther Nyoki, said the revelation that none of the 35 soldiers were dismissed for engaging in SEA wasn't just concerning, but unacceptable.

"This isn't justice; it's theatre," she told BFBS Forces News. "These processes seem aimed to manage headlines instead of delivering consequences.

"When the military finds evidence of sexual abuse and still fails to act, it sends a clear message that this behaviour is accepted," she continued. "From people in uniform, that is a disgrace.

"If investigations result in reports without charges, they are worthless. They fail to provide justice to victims, damage public trust and allow more abuse to happen.

"The MOD should stop pretending this is accountability. A real commitment to change involves prosecutions, not just paperwork."

Tessa Gregory is Head of Public Law at Leigh Day and is representing Agnes' family in the ongoing case to bring the man accused of her murder, Robert James Purkiss, to justice. She agreed with Esther.

"The fact that none of the 35 instances of potential sexual exploitation/abuse/transactional sex which were investigated led to a discharge of military personnel, despite the existence of the presumption of discharge, raises serious concerns about whether the policy is fit for purpose and whether the Ministry of Defence is really adopting a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviour," she told BFBS Forces News.

Army's relationship with Kenya in spotlight

Last month the head of the Army, General Sir Roly Walker, visited Kenya amid the ongoing efforts to renew the defence partnership.

While there, he addressed the Kenyan communities that play host to British soldiers.

"I recognise there are historical cases where we have let people down: where people have been abused; where people have been hurt; and where people have lost their lives, and where the environment has been damaged," he told them. 

"We are committed to redress and are doubling down even more with the Kenyan authorities to ensure that anybody who has got a grievance can say what needs to be said to the correct authorities, and we will work with them to redress it," Gen Sir Roly added. 

Court hearings over the extradition of Robert James Purkiss to face charges for Agnes' murder continues.