The United Kingdom agrees to push the Kenyans affected by Lolldaiga Fire

The UK government has agreed to pay compensation to thousands of Kenyans, who were affected by fire resulting from British military exercises four years ago.

The settlement outside the court follows a lengthy legal battle in which 7,723 claimed that they had lost their property and suffered from health complications due to a 2021 fire in Lolldaiga in the Rift Valley in Kenya.

A spokesman for the British High Commissioner in Nairobi said the fire was “very unfortunate” and that the United Kingdom had devoted “time, effort and supplier” to solve claims.

The British government did not confirm the amount paid, but the lawyer in the case told BBC that it was 2.9 million pounds.

Kevin Kobay called it “the best possible results” despite complaints from his client that the amounts they received were very small so that their losses were not compensated.

He said that the alternative “could have continued to litigate for about seven years so that he could prove these cases to analyze each case separately,” which is difficult because many evidence was lost after four years.

Mr. Kobay admitted that his clients did not have medical records supporting their claim of healthy damage due to inhaling smoke from a fire for Weldga, and that they were also smoke because they used firewood for cooking.

The UK Ministry of Defense said in 2022 that the fire was more likely due to the camp stove, which was landed during the training exercise in the preservation. It found that about 7,000 acres (2800 hectares) of private lands were damaged, but no community lands were affected directly.

The legal procedure argued that there was environmental damage in the surrounding societies due to smoke, and the destruction of property due to sealed wild animals.

The British government has helped maintain the restoration of the burning area and the military exercises are still taking place there.

Lolldaiga Conservance – about 49,000 acres of mountainous lands with a background from the ice -covered Kenya Mountain – is part of the Laikipia plateau, where the British seized hundreds of thousands of acres.

It is only 70 km (45 miles) from LWA, where Prince Middleton Prince suggested in November 2010.

A few kilometers to the south are the newly renovated niati barracks, a facility of 70 million pounds, which is part of the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK).

Thousands of British forces host every year to get huge exercises in locations like Lolldaiga, which provide perfect conditions for training in the harsh environment.

BATUK contributes tens of millions of pounds to the Kenyan economy annually.

But over the years, the controversy surrounding some of the soldiers’ behavior has attracted the attention of the media, including the allegations of deadly strikes, murder and sexual exploitation of Kenyan women.