Maaddeey Posted April 4, 2012 An argument among British Army troops at a Nanyuki hotel degenerated into a vicious fight between Irish and Scottish soldiers at the weekend. Initial reports indicated that one died after he was thrown out of a window on the first floor and landed head first on the concrete ground. While their army chief of staff Maj James Clark agreed that “tribal” utterances caused the fight, he denied that there was loss of life. “The incident hurt the image of the British Army in Nanyuki. It was a scenario similar to the one in Kenya where people from different tribes may disagree when drunk. Investigations are being conducted. We will come up with recommendations,” Mr Clark said. Talk of town The army and the management of Sportsmans Arms Hotel worked hard to keep the fight under wraps. But it became the talk of town after five critically injured soldiers were airlifted to the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi. About 200 soldiers had come together at the hotel after spending several weeks in combat training in the bush in Laikipia and Samburu. They included several squads such as Parachute 29, Royal military officers and sergeants, and were under the watch of 29 duty personnel. Share This Story 643 Share As they were celebrating, an argument arose between Irish guards on one side, and Scottish guards on the other. One group was mocking the other that they were bad drivers and were causing accidents in the town. Earlier in the day, a British Army vehicle had been involved in a road accident along the Nanyuki- Nyeri road. A British Army vehicle had also hit and injured an administration police corporal in Nanyuki town two weeks ago. The remark triggered the exchange of fisticuffs. Chairs, bottles and glasses were also flying in all directions. “They were pushing each other through the windows and whoever fell would find another group waiting for him at the ground floor,” Laikipia East District criminal investigations officer Shadrack Juma, who was at the scene, said. “The fight was quickly contained by the 29 duty personnel. The hotel staff also called the Kenya Police. When they arrived they were asked to stay outside to provide security outside the gate,” Maj Clark said. After putting the seriously injured into an ambulance, the soldiers were ordered to march back to their camp in groups of threes. Their camp is located about 500 metres away from the hotel. “They thanked our officers for arriving on time but asked us not to bother since the situation was now under their control. They even declined to give us the names of the injured for our records,” Mr Juma said. Police reports indicated that the fight led to destruction of chairs, windows, bottles and glasses amounting to more than Sh150,000. Maj Clark said the British Army had paid for all the damaged property and the management of the hotel was satisfied. The management of the hotel declined to talk to journalists. The weekend incident has ignited a debate among the local business community as to whether the British soldiers should be allowed out of the camp because of their unbecoming behaviour. Curio shop operators want the soldiers allowed free movement since they form their core revenue base. But Maj Clark said the army was not restricting the soldiers’ movement within the town but had advised them to move in groups of not more than three for security reasons. “The country is going through security concerns, and we want to ensure we are in a safe environment whenever they are out in a big group,” he said. It has been a love-hate relationship between the British soldiers and the local business community. While the traders, especially pub operators appreciate their spending, the area manager of the British training unit in Kenya Mr Alfred Muita said they have been getting a lot of demands for compensation from the traders who property are destroyed by drunk soldiers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Qandalawi Posted April 4, 2012 Loool, qabiilkee adkaaday marka, ma Irishka mase the Scots. The Irish are gangsters and no doubt may have triggered the trouble, balse thEnglish ayaa saqajaamiin ah haday uhiilinayaan the Scots, Irish-kuse manaxaan labada dhagahay karacaayaan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
