British High Commission denies press reports

The British High Commission in Nairobi on Tuesday denied reports by a local newspaper which said an official told pastoralists in Laikipia, central Kenya, to "mind their own business" after they allegedly complained of dangerous explosives, left behind in land designated as a military training zone. "Yes we train there, but we do not use live ammunition," British High Commission Press Officer Rufus Drabble told IRIN. "We recognise and respect the rights of the pastoralists and we conduct our training in a way that upholds this respect and enables them to enjoy their rights." The 'Daily Nation' reported on Sunday that a British High Commission defence advisor told local residents that "they had no business intruding into those areas". Drabble denied reports that British soldiers training in Laikipia had contaminated grazing pastures in Mukogodo division by abandoning explosives which were killing and injuring Maasai herdsmen. He reiterated that the soldiers used blank ammunition, and stressed that Britain had permission from the Kenyan government to use the area. He added that other military organisations, including the Kenyan army, used the same training zone.