Inquiry urged over Kenya rape allegations

A lawyer representing hundreds of Kenyan tribeswomen allegedly raped by British soldiers, today called for a public inquiry into…

A lawyer representing hundreds of Kenyan tribeswomen allegedly raped by British soldiers, today called for a public inquiry into the affair.

Mr Martyn Day said there needed to be a wider probe into what he described as an "epidemic of rapes" than simply "the Army investigating the Army".

His intervention followed a report that Royal Military Police investigators had concluded that at least 37 women had been raped by British soldiers training in the east African country.

According to the London Times, the RMP are believed to be considering charges against two serving soldiers - one for rape and the other, a senior officer, for allegedly failing to report a rape by his men. A dozen other officers were said to be facing investigation for covering up reports of sexual assaults.

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The latest report follows the disclosure that British and Kenyan scientists have found that the police records of more than 650 rape claims by Kenyan women were forgeries.

Mr Day acknowledged that some claimants were likely to be "bandwagon jumpers" hoping to obtain compensation pay-outs from the Ministry of Defence.

However, he said that from the interviews which he had conducted among the women from the Masai and Samburu tribes, he believed that the number of genuine cases ran into the "hundreds".

The British Ministry of Defence confirmed today that the investigation was continuing but said that no charges were imminent. "No one has been or is about to be charged. The investigation is on-going," a spokeswoman said.