Mudavadi: September UK military training at BATUK will proceed as planned
Key points
- Mudavadi on Tuesday: Government of Kenya welcomes decision for planned BATUK exercise to proceed.
- Context: UK MoD last week said Laikipia training was cancelled because required licences were not issued.
- CS framed the turnaround as proof partners can work through friction; did not detail licence status.
- Partnership cast as boosting KDF capability, regional security, host-community jobs and local business.
"The Government of Kenya welcomes the decision for the planned military training exercise at the British Army Training Unit Kenya to proceed," Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said in a Tuesday statement, putting September's UK exercise back on the public calendar after a week of cancellation headlines.
Mudavadi cast the outcome as evidence of a long Kenya–United Kingdom defence relationship built on mutual respect and shared security goals. He argued the partnership advances national interest by strengthening Kenya Defence Forces capabilities, supporting regional peace work, and delivering jobs and business for communities that host training.
What London said last week
Days earlier, a UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson had said with regret that licences needed for training in Laikipia later this year had not been forthcoming, so the planned package would move to an alternative location outside Kenya. The UK still called the defence partnership a core strength and praised joint work with the KDF. Nairobi had answered that it was working quietly to fix the problem.
Mudavadi's new line does not spell out whether every required licence has already been reissued. That gap matters for host communities and for MPs still debating ratification and accountability terms around BATUK's legal framework. A welcome statement is not the same as a published licence schedule.
Parliament and host counties still hold cards
Defence and foreign affairs committees can ask for a written brief on licence conditions, environmental safeguards and community grievance paths before troops surge for the September 2026 package. Politics desk: Politics.
Laikipia residents have long mixed economic benefit from BATUK-related spend with complaints documented in past parliamentary inquiries, including the National Assembly defence committee's multi-year review tabled in late 2025. Resuming training without a public accountability annex risks recycling the same political fight after the next incident or land dispute.
Mudavadi's 28 July 2026 statement resets the diplomatic tone; the operational scoreboard is simpler: licences issued, exercise dates locked, host-community notices posted at least 14 days before live-fire or large convoy movements.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of Mudavadi's statement and prior UK MoD remarks. Official licence instruments control whether training is fully cleared.
