In Nanyuki, about 200 km north of Nairobi, sits the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), a permanent training support unit for British soldiers preparing for operations.

According to their own description, BATUK provides demanding training to units deploying on operations or assuming high-readiness tasks. The unit includes around 100 permanent staff, supported by a rotating cohort of about 280 personnel. Each year, up to six infantry battalions conduct eight-week exercises in Kenya, alongside engineering and medical deployments.

But behind this official description lies a different story.

Over the years, BATUK has been linked to serious controversies, including the murder of Agnes Wanjiru, allegations of sexual abuse involving local women, and environmental damage caused by a wildfire that destroyed thousands of acres of forest and farmland.

One of the least talked about consequences is the growing number of children born to Kenyan women and British soldiers, many of whom have been abandoned.

These children often stand out in their communities. Most were born from consensual relationships, but some others from traumatic circumstances. In nearly all cases, once deployments ended, the soldiers left and were never heard from again.

Connecting Roots Kenya was created by the volunteers -lawyers and DNA experts, that have been working with these families from the start.

While we make every effort to trace their fathers, we are raising funds to support their basic needs, including education, housing, and daily sustenance, and to ensure these children are not left behind.