NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — For the first time, Britain's government has agreed to pay out millions in pounds to Kenyans to settle a civil lawsuit after its military forces had their legal immunity in Kenya lifted.
The payout of 2.9 million British pounds ($3.9 million) to settle damages for a wildfire accidentally started by British soldiers in Kenya in 2021 follows a landmark ruling that stripped the U.K. government and British Army of immunity from Kenyan civil suits.
That has opened a new chapter in accountability for foreign militaries' actions on Kenyan soil, and the British military deployment in the country faces a series of controversies over the conduct of its personnel both in Kenyan and U.K. courts.
Over 7,700 Kenyans and an environmental lobby group had filed a class-action suit before the Kenyan Environment and Land Court, accusing the British Army Training Unit in Kenya of destroying more than 12,000 acres of the Lolldaiga Hills in central Kenya 2021.
The British government admitted that the fire had been started accidentally by a soldier’s kerosene stove. The blaze took almost two weeks to put out and caused the death of one person and an unspecified number of animals.
Locals said toxic fumes from the fire caused health issues, including respiratory complications and damaged eyesight.
An environmental assessment presented before court showed that the fire caused extensive damage that would take between 30 and 50 years to tackle.
The British government had argued that it had immunity from trial in Kenyan courts, but that was thrown out in a landmark ruling by High Court Judge Kossy Bor, who stated that the U.K. lost absolute immunity against trial in local courts when it entered into a defense treaty with Kenya.
It was the first time Kenyan courts were able to try civil claims against British military forces.
Kelvin Kubai, a Lolldaiga community legal representative, lauded the settlement, saying it sets a precedent for future claims and redefines diplomatic and military accountability in host countries.
Many, however, expressed strong disappointment over the compensation amounts. Some residents say the payment is as little as 129 pounds for some, and say the payout falls far short of their 575-million pound demand.
“My home is closest to Lolldaiga Hills, so I suffered significant damages from the smoke of the fire. I also helped put out the fire," said local resident Charles Ndungu. “To learn that people are receiving just 22,500 Kenya shillings (129 pounds) is shocking.”
Some were planning protests to renew calls for transparency and justice.
John Kiunjuri, an official of the Lolldaiga community that sued the British Army, told The Associated Press that “they would meet soon to discuss further steps."
Meanwhile, the British Army is grappling with recent revelations that some soldiers continue to violate sexual conduct bans by engaging in transactional sex despite regulations.
A report released by Britain's Ministry of Defense earlier this month shows that, despite instituting a ban against transactional sex, British soldiers stationed in central Kenya's Nanyuki area continue to fuel prostitution, which is illegal in Kenya.
British authorities opened an inquiry after a 2024 investigative documentary by British outlet ITV revealed that soldiers stationed in Nanyuki were still fueling prostitution despite army regulations forbidding it.
The inquiry concluded that “it is more likely than not that, despite the training provided by the Army and the control measures in place, transactional sexual activity by UK personnel in Kenya has continued."
The report came after another ruling by the U.K. High Court mandating the release of contact details for 11 British soldiers alleged to have fathered children with Kenyan women during their deployment, potentially triggering a wave of paternity cases, citizenship claims, and reparations.
Despite enjoying a mutual military partnership, the century-old military pact between Kenya and Britain, the country’s former colonial ruler, has come under increasing scrutiny over alleged misconduct of British soldiers. Demands for a review of the military pact between the two nations have been growing louder.
Kenya and the U.K. signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement in 2015, under which Kenya retains jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases involving British troops on Kenyan soil. The agreement is renewable every five years and was last renewed in 2021. The agreement allows approximately 3,000 British soldiers to train in Kenya annually.
FILE - The Kenyan flag flies at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre during Kenya President Mwai Kibaki's speech inside the building in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim, File)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A state appeals court is being asked to dismiss felony voter misconduct charges against an Alaska resident born in American Samoa, one of numerous cases that have drawn attention to the complex citizenship status of people born in the U.S. territory.
In arguments Thursday, attorneys for Tupe Smith plan to ask the Alaska Court of Appeals in Anchorage to reverse a lower court's decision that let stand the indictment brought against her. Her supporters say she made an innocent mistake that does not merit charges, but the state contends Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship.
Prosecutors also have brought charges against 10 other people from American Samoa in the small Alaska community of Whittier, including Smith’s husband and her mother-in-law. American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil and instead are considered U.S. nationals. Paths to citizenship exist, such as naturalization, though that process can be expensive and cumbersome.
American Samoans can serve in the military, obtain U.S. passports and vote in elections in American Samoa, but they cannot hold public office in the U.S. or participate in most U.S. elections.
About 25 people gathered on a snowy street outside the courthouse before Thursday's hearing to support Smith. One woman, Fran Seager of Palmer, held a sign that said, “Support our Samoans. They are US nationals.”
Smith's husband, Michael Pese, thanked the American Samoa community in the Anchorage area. “If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t be strong enough to face this head on,” he said.
State Sen. Forrest Dunbar, a Democrat who attended the rally, said the Alaska Department of Law has limited resources.
“We should be going after people who are genuine criminals, who are violent criminals, or at least have the intent to deceive,” he said. “I do not think it is a good use of our limited state resources to go after these hardworking, taxpaying Alaskans who are not criminals.”
Smith was arrested after winning election to a regional school board in 2023. She said she relied on erroneous information from local election officials when she identified herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms.
In a court filing in 2024, one of her previous attorneys said that when Smith answered questions from the Alaska state trooper who arrested her, she said she was aware that she could not vote in presidential elections but was “unaware of any other restrictions on her ability to vote.”
Smith said she marks herself as a U.S. national on paperwork. But when there was no such option on voter registration forms, she was told by city representatives that it was appropriate to mark U.S. citizen, according to the filing.
Smith “exercised what she believed was her right to vote in a local election. She did so without any intent to mislead or deceive anyone,” her current attorneys said in a filing in September. “Her belief that U.S. nationals may vote in local elections, which was supported by advice from City of Whittier election officials, was simply mistaken.”
The state has said Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship. Prosecutors pointed to the language on the voter application forms she filled out in 2020 and 2022, which explicitly said that if the applicant was not at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, “do not complete this form, as you are not eligible to vote.”
The counts Smith was indicted on “did not have anything to do with her belief in her ability to vote in certain elections; rather they concerned the straightforward question of whether or not Smith intentionally and falsely swore she was a United States citizen,” Kayla Doyle, an assistant attorney general, said in court filings last year.
One of Smith's attorneys, Neil Weare, co-founder of the Washington-based Right to Democracy Project, said by email last week that if the appeals court lets stand the indictment, Alaska will be “the only state to our knowledge with such a low bar for felony voter fraud.”
Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.
Michael Pese and his wife, Tupe Smith, stand outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Michael Pese, left, his wife, Tupe Smith, and their son Maximus pose for a photo outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
FILE - Tupe Smith poses for a photo outside the school in Whittier, Alaska, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
