UK to compensate Kenyan victims of British army fire

The UK has agreed to pay 2.9 million pounds ($4 million) in compensation to residents living near a Kenyan wildlife conservancy, following a fire sparked by a British military exercise in 2021, the plaintiffs’ lawyer said on Friday.

The British army conducts joint exercises with Kenya in the northern Laikipia region, where it has a base in the town of Nanyuki. The fire broke out in the nearby Lolldaiga conservancy in March 2021.

"We arrived at a settlement and have dispatched payments,” lawyer Kelvin Kubai said in a short message to Reuters.

He said compensation was paid to over 7,000 residents for what he described as "smoke nuisance" caused by the fire.

Destroyed nature reserve