No charges over troop rape claims

An inquiry into allegations by Kenyan women of rape by British soldiers has decided there is insufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution. More than 2,000 women allege they were raped by British soldiers based in the country. Some of the claims pre-date independence in 1963.

But a two-year investigation by British Royal Military Police found evidence tampering and negative DNA tests.

It also found there was inconclusive information from interviews. Thousands of British troops come to train each year in Kenya, but when claims surfaced in 2003 that British soldiers had systematically raped Kenyan women, an investigation was launched by the Royal Military Police. After sifting through bundles of files from police log books at the time, forensic experts discovered widespread doctoring of notes.

They found just over 280 of the 2,000 initial allegations of rape that opened potential lines of inquiry. BBC East Africa correspondent Karen Allen said that when these women were interviewed, along with nearly a dozen commanding officers from the British army, it was clear that a criminal prosecution would fail.

The findings have been backed by civilian police in Britain, but for the Kenyan women who stand by their claims of rape there is still the option of pursuing their cases through the civil courts, our correspondent adds.

(Courtesy: BBC NEWS )