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Kenyans sue the British army over fire at wildlife sanctuary

Tuesday, July 27th, 2021 08:42 | By

Linus Murangiri was crushed to death by a vehicle as he rushed to help put out a fire at a Kenyan wildlife sanctuary which was hosting a training exercise by the British army.

Despite all the publicity over the fire in March, his death has not previously been acknowledged.

Although there is no suggestion the British army was directly involved in the death of Mr Murangiri , his widow has now told the BBC she wants a speedy investigation into how her husband died and the cause of the fire, and for the findings to be made public.

The fire, which has been blamed on the military exercise, destroyed about 12,000 acres of land at the privately-owned Lolldaiga conservancy in central Kenya, home to animals such as elephants, buffalos, lions, hyenas, jackals and the endangered Grevy's zebra.

One British soldier allegedly wrote in a Snapchat post: "Two months in Kenya later and we've only got eight days left. Been good, caused a fire, killed an elephant and feel terrible about it but hey-ho, when in Rome."

The official cause of the fire has not been made public but the incident is at the centre of an environmental lawsuit brought by a lobby group and almost 1,000 local residents.

Residents say the scale of the wildfire at the conservancy was unprecedented - they say it lasted for at least four days as thick plumes of smoke filled the sky, making it impossible to move.

They say it smelt like a barbeque, although the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has denied claims that five elephants and a calf were killed.

Some elderly people say they suffered burning eyes, while local preacher Duncan Kariuki, 43, said his one-year-old child had to be hospitalised for smoke inhalation.

A spokesperson for the British High Commission said the army had conducted an internal investigation into the fire but because "this is part of an ongoing court case, it would be inappropriate to comment any further".

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