Kenya-France military pact sparks sovereignty concerns over troop immunity

Outspoken lawyer Dr. Miguna Miguna has criticised Kenya’s newly ratified Defence Cooperation Agreement with France, warning that the deal undermines national sovereignty and risks repeating past failures linked to foreign military presence in the country.

Kenya ratified the agreement on April 8, 2026, granting French soldiers legal immunity from Kenyan prosecution. The pact had earlier been signed on October 29, 2025, by Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya and French Ambassador Arnaud Suquet. The agreement adds French troops to an existing foreign military presence in Kenya that already includes British and American forces.

The development comes at a time when several Sahel nations, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, have expelled French military forces over sovereignty concerns and opposition to foreign military influence.

According to Dr. Miguna, the agreement weakens the constitutional principles of equality before the law and national dignity.

“The Constitution of Kenya 2010 emphasizes the sovereignty of the people, equality before the law, and national dignity,” he said. “Yet granting extensive immunities to foreign troops creates the appearance that Kenyan lives are subordinate to strategic alliances.”

Civil society groups have also raised concerns over the arrangement, arguing that Kenya risks repeating what they describe as longstanding accountability failures under its defence agreements with the United Kingdom.

Under the France agreement, French personnel retain primary jurisdiction over crimes committed while on duty. In cases involving serious offences, French soldiers may be tried in French courts and serve sentences in France.

The arrangement mirrors protections granted to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), which has operated in Nanyuki since the first Kenya-UK defence agreement signed in June 1964.

Over the years, BATUK has faced allegations involving civilian deaths, sexual assault and injuries caused by unexploded ordnance allegedly left behind during military exercises.

The case of Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old woman whose body was discovered in a septic tank in Nanyuki in 2012, remains one of the most prominent incidents associated with the British military presence.

Despite an inquest finding that British soldiers were responsible and reports of a suspect being arrested in the United Kingdom, the matter remains unresolved.

Dr. Miguna argued that the Wanjiru case exposed structural weaknesses in Kenya’s defence agreements with foreign powers.

“The state had prioritised geopolitical partnerships over addressing unresolved accountability gaps,” he said, adding that extending similar protections to French soldiers “signals continuity, not reform.”

The criticism also comes days after French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi on May 11 and 12, 2026, where France announced 23 billion Euros in investments across energy, agriculture and digital sectors.

Macron described the initiative as a “partnership of equals” intended to reset relations between France and African countries.

However, the summit attracted criticism from some Kenyans and pan-Africanists who argued that the investment promises masked deeper geopolitical interests and amounted to a repackaging of neocolonial influence.

Observers cited the timing of the summit alongside the ratification of the military pact as evidence of expanding French strategic interests in Kenya.

Beyond concerns over immunity and sovereignty, Dr. Miguna warned that Kenya’s growing military alignment with Western countries and Israel could expose the country to broader geopolitical and security risks.

“The government appears excessively aligned with one geopolitical axis,” he said, noting that Kenya could face internal political backlash, terrorism threats, oil price shocks, disruption of Red Sea trade routes and diplomatic strain with Muslim-majority states.

He maintained that the issue was not Kenya engaging foreign allies, but the need to preserve strategic independence. “The real challenge is maintaining strategic autonomy,” he said.

Dr. Miguna further argued that defence agreements involving foreign troops should be transparent, subject to parliamentary oversight and aligned strictly with Kenya’s national interests rather than becoming permanent dependencies.

“As French soldiers prepare to arrive under the new agreement, the case of Agnes Wanjiru and six decades of unresolved BATUK abuses remain the most concrete indication of what that failure costs,” he said.