BBC Investigation: DNA uncovers British soldiers' children left behind in Kenya
British soldiers stationed in Nanyuki, Kenya fathered children with local women and, in some cases, abandoned them in a pattern of behaviour impacting multiple generations, a BBC World of Secrets podcast and BBC Africa Eye investigation has revealed.
The oldest child the BBC met during the investigation is now 70; the youngest just 3 years old.
The two-year investigation from the BBC follows UK-based international children's rights lawyer James Netto and Kenyan human rights lawyer Kelvin Kubai, who grew up near Nanyuki, witnessing the struggles of these mothers and children. They worked alongside geneticist Professor Denise Syndercombe Court from King's College London to help children in Kenya find their fathers. Together, the team searched commercially available DNA ancestry databases to identify British soldiers through DNA matching.
James Netto said: “These people aren't looking for a quick buck or a payout. They want to know who their dads are…It's your fundamental right to know who your family is, your identity and your heritage.”
In documented cases, nearly a hundred children have, so far, been found to have been fathered by men serving at the BATUK (British Army Training Unit) army base in Nanyuki, 200 kilometres north of Nairobi, since the 1950s. Some of these children have faced extreme poverty or being ostracised by their community. But following this investigation, some have been able to find their fathers.
- Cathy grew up believing her father was dead, watching her mother, once engaged to a British soldier, raise her alone after he left without warning.
- Yvonne was a baby when her mother died, and she grew up believing her British soldier father was dead. Through a DNA match with a distant relative, he was later located in England.
- Peter’s mother fell pregnant by his British soldier father and she was left to raise Peter alone after he returned to the UK. Peter grew up in poverty, facing discrimination as the only mixed-race child in his community, and made repeated failed attempts to find his father, including approaching a British military base, before eventually giving up. After his mother’s death, he rebuilt his life and is now a father himself.
Human rights lawyer, Kelvin Kubaitold the BBC: “This is the beginning of justice for children who've been in the circumstances of this small number of cases that we've been able to prove here in Kenya. Your DNA, even when dead, still lives. It might not be through you, but through your living relatives. Your DNA will always be living. And as long as it's living, we'll always find you.”
One father, Phil, a former soldier, told the BBC that he did not respond when his daughter in Kenya contacted him online because he was struggling to adjust to civilian life after returning from war and was homeless at the time.
He said: “She got in touch with me on Facebook but I wasn't in the right frame of mind at the time…I know a lifetime's not going to make it up for, but at least I can try.”
The story is told in a new five-part season of the BBC’s global investigations podcast, World of Secrets and a BBC Africa Eye documentary titled Searching for Soldier Dad.
The World of Secrets podcast offers audiences a deeper and exclusive insight into the investigation, featuring additional interviews with one of the fathers, the children of former soldiers, and exploring themes of racial identity, the impact of parental abandonment, and consent and power dynamics in the relationship between British soldiers and Kenyan women, some of whom were vulnerable.
For the Kenyan families who spoke to the BBC, the investigation has brought answers after years of uncertainty and raises wider questions about the human cost of Britain’s post-colonial legacy in Kenya.
Ivana Davidovic, World of Secrets podcast presenter and producer says:“It has been the privilege of my life to report on this investigation in Kenya and the UK over the past two years. Working with the BBC production team, legal experts and a geneticist, alongside Kenyan families who entrusted us with their stories of identity, abandonment and hope, has been deeply important to me.
“Through legal and genetic evidence, this investigation set out to examine questions of accountability, including the long‑standing behaviour of some British forces deployed in Kenya, and the Army’s role in addressing its impact, as well as the wider, long‑term consequences of Britain’s post‑colonial legacy and military presence in the country. I am grateful to the families who trusted us with their stories.”
Peter Murimi, BBC Africa Eye Executive Producer says: "For years, these mothers and children have tried to locate the fathers, repeatedly hitting a dead end. Many of these children have grown up not knowing who their fathers are or fully understanding a part of where they come from. BBC Eye exists to document stories that would otherwise go untold, and this is one of those stories. It was important to us that these families were heard."
Responding to the investigation’s claims, the British Army told the BBC that while paternity claims against UK British soldiers are a private life issue, the UK government cooperates with local child support authorities where there are claims relating to paternity. They said they are very clear about the standards of behaviour expected from all personnel and that all soldiers who visit or train at BATUK and in Kenya are given clear direction about how they should behave, on and off duty.
Searching for Soldier Dad is a BBC Long Form Audio production for the BBC World Service.
Where to listen and watch?
- Podcast ‘World of Secrets, Season 12: ‘Searching for Soldier Dad’
- The first episode of the five-part series will be available from Monday 20 April wherever you get your BBC podcasts, with new episodes released weekly
- If you’re in the UK, all five episodes will be available on BBC Sounds from Monday 20 April
- Listeners outside the UK can listen to episodes weekly on BBC.com from Monday 20 April, or to all five episodes if they subscribe to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts
- The series will air weekly on BBC World Service radio from Wednesday 22 April
- BBC Eye TV Documentary ‘Abandoned: Searching for Soldier Dad’: Available from Monday 20 April
- UK audiences: Watch on BBC iPlayer and a version will air on BBC Two as part of Global Eye
- US audiences: Watch on BBC Select
- International broadcast: The documentary will be available on the BBC News Africa YouTube channel & on TV channels broadcasting BBC Africa Eye.