Sunday, April 26th 2026
Edward, a nine-year-old boy from Kenya, has always known that his father worked for the British Army. The color of his skin, lighter than that of his peers, has caused him to face bullying for years. His father disappeared before Edward (whose name is not real) was born, leaving his mother in extreme poverty and ostracized by several family members.
Now, this man, who had worked as a contractor at a British military base in Kenya, and 19 others who served as soldiers there, have been identified as the fathers of children born near the base, thanks to a new and important process involving the analysis of DNA and the legal process.
So far, paternity has been legally confirmed in 12 cases by the UK’s most senior Family Court judge, a BBC World Service investigation reveals.
The process gives answers to children who did not know where they came from, and in some cases even who their fathers were – or believed they were dead. All these children have sought to understand their origins and have faced economic difficulties. Most of the 12 confirmed cases are now eligible to apply for British citizenship. Those who are under 18 or still in education will also be eligible for financial support as children.
British lawyer James Netto and lawyer Kelvin Kubai, who works on the ground in Kenya to find clients, say there are around 100 documented cases of children born near the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk) by British soldiers. Netto believes the true number could be higher.
The base, established in 1964 and home to more than 5,000 British soldiers each year, has often been at the center of controversy while operating in Nanyuki, a commercial city about 185 km north of Nairobi.
A two-year Kenyan parliamentary inquiry, released last December, accused British soldiers of operating in a “culture of impunity” on this basis. According to the report, this has led to sexual abuse, suspected murder, human rights abuses, environmental damage and the abandonment of local children.
The British Ministry of Defense responded by saying it “deeply regrets the problems and challenges that have arisen in relation to the UK military presence in Kenya… and is taking steps to address them wherever possible”.
James Netto was briefed on first heard about this issue in 2024 when he learned about children in Nanyuki looking for their fathers. He teamed up with renowned genetics professor Denise Syndercombe Court, and together they went to Kenya “with a suitcase full of DNA tests”.
They then compared the DNA samples they collected with genetic profiles available in commercial genealogy databases to find the missing British fathers. Their clients ranged in age from three to 70.
“This has never been done before on this scale, using DNA testing in UK courts,” says Netto. He adds that they had a very large database for comparison. By last year, there were almost 30 million profiles on Ancestry.com, the largest commercial DNA site, which Professor Syndercombe Court also used as its main source.
Netto says they had no idea how many results they would get and were surprised by the huge success. “We found very distant relatives, and even closer relatives, until we were able to directly identify the fathers”.
This important discovery could change the lives of Edward and his mother, Nasibo, as he will now be entitled to financial support from his father.
“I used to think they were gentlemen”, says Nasibo of the British soldiers. She believed that Edward’s father truly loved and cared for her. The BBC has seen a letter the soldier’s mother wrote to Nasibo before she became pregnant, thanking him for making her son so happy. When Nasibo told him she was pregnant, she says he was overjoyed. He even asked her if the baby was a boy to name him after his brother, and returned from a trip to the UK with an engagement ring.
But when Nasibo was four months pregnant, she says he told her she needed to return to Britain urgently and then cut off all contact.
She said some relatives forced her to leave the family home, while her son faced bullying at school because of the lighter skin color.
“They call him the ‘British colonizer,'” she said. (Great Britain ruled Kenya from 1895 to 1963.)
Lawyer James Netto managed to find Edward’s father after the court ordered the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Work and Pensions and the British tax authority to share his name and address. The man has asked his lawyer not to share contact details with Nasibo or their son, but has already started legal proceedings to force him to pay the financial obligations for the child.
Another case is that of Yvonne, an 18-year-old from Kenya, who knew even less about her father than Edward. She had only heard that he had served in the British Army, but she didn’t even know his name and had grown up believing he was dead. Her mother died when she was a baby, and soldiers at the Batuk base reportedly told her grandparents that her father was dead.
The legal project discovered – through a DNA match with the man’s mother’s cousin, who had uploaded her data to Ancestry.com – that her father is in fact alive and living in the UK.
After breaching five court orders, he end was presented on the day of the hearing of the case. He asked for a DNA test to confirm if he was Yvonne’s father, and the result, a week later, proved he was.
At the moment, he wants no contact with Yvonne. However, his mother’s cousin has expressed a desire to meet him.
Not all identified fathers have refused to be involved.
Phill, a former British soldier who served in Nanyuki in 2004, says he is enjoying getting to know his 20-year-old daughter, Cathy. He had previously proposed to her mother, Maggie, and spent time with the girl in the first months after the birth. But when he was transferred to another mission, he says his phone was stolen and they lost contact.
Maggie thought it was easier to tell Cathy that her father was dead. But when she grew up, she discovered he was alive and tried to contact him on Facebook. He says he blocked the messages, not realizing who she was.
At the time, he had left the army and was homeless for a period, also dealing with mental health issues. “The transition to civilian life wasn’t easy,” he says.
Cathy was also going through a difficult period, which ended with a suicide attempt.
“Growing up, I felt like I missed a lot of father figures because there were things my mom couldn’t understand, because of race and stuff. It made me feel very alone. There’s a part of you that you don’t know at all. It’s like a mystery to you,” she said.
Now that his paternity has been confirmed in the British courts, Phill says he’s happy to have been found, describing it as a “very nice surprise”.
He says he’s in touch with Cathy and is already giving her and Maggie financial support.
“I told Cathy…no matter what I do, I can’t make up for the time I’ve lost with her. But I can try to do more
Cathy now hopes to visit the UK.
Netto says that, as far as he knows, Phill is the only father in these cases who is sending money to his child.
Kenyan lawyer Kelvin Kubai, who has set up a charity called Connecting Roots Kenya to financially help the children of British soldiers, was asked whether a relationship should be banned altogether. such, given the large number of children born out of wedlock. He disagreed.
“That would be very racist because it would mean asking mostly white soldiers to avoid black women just because it might get them in trouble. The only reasonable solution is to hold these men accountable when they become parents during their time in Kenya.”
The British Ministry of Defense stated before the publication of this report: “Where there are no criminal allegations of illegal activity by British military personnel and concrete concerns have not been raised by local police, then the Ministry does not undertake investigations. Some of the paternity claims may relate to consensual relationships, which are not contrary to our policies”. affected by paternity issues should contact the national child services in Kenya. “They then co-operate with the UK and we provide support to answer questions and address these issues as appropriate”.
Following the BBC’s publication the Ministry of Defense (MoD) issued a further statement saying it was “deeply concerned by the allegations of children being left without appropriate support”.
“Those members of the military who are found to have failed in their responsibilities are expected to be held accountable for their actions,” the statement added. “Sexual exploitation or abandonment of parental responsibilities are unacceptable”.
Meanwhile, a Kenyan parliamentary inquiry published in December called on the government in Nairobi to put in place new mechanisms “to hold soldiers accountable for providing financial support to children born from consensual relationships, including DNA testing and providing psychosocial support to these children”.
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Source: prizrenpost
Etiketa: Brief
