British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk) soldiers during a thanksgiving service for Queen Elizabeth Windsor II conducted by Reverend Anthony Thompson in Nanyuki, September 19, 2022. [FILE Standard]
Batuk: Inside Britain's school for infantry warfare in Kenya
National
By
David Odongo
| Sep 20, 2025
The exhaustive British Army personnel training takes between one month to three months, making the soldiers become battle-ready.
“The training in Kenya offers no guaranteed promotions or pay rises but is a factor for soldiers who want to advance their military careers, and want to be deployed to real warzones,” a source at the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) told The Saturday Standard.
Nanyuki was an ideal place for establishing the training base because it mimics realistic operational scenarios in a hot, arid environment
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Many war zones have similar conditions. The training facility can accommodate 10,000 troops annually. It also hosts 300 permanent soldiers based on-site who are usually posted with their families. They can stay for six months up to two years in Nanyuki. The total staff at Batuk includes 900 Kenyans.
Batuk has a smaller unit based in Kahawa Garrison, Nairobi.
In the British Army, Batuk is considered as the exclusive infantry training centre offering extreme military exercises that prepare British troops for deployment in various harsh environments, including places like Afghanistan.
There is a stringent selection process for soldiers who are coming to train, and fresh recruits rarely make the cut.
Every year, the British Army sends up to six battalions to conduct exercises annually. A battalion can have between 150 to 300 soldiers, our source reveals.
The training, for service men, mostly includes live firing exercises and infantry skills to harden them. Professionals like engineers also use the base to sharpen their skills, while medics are used in the community health centres around the training grounds to offer free medical services.
In 2019, the Batuk site in Nanyuki underwent an intensive Sh12.32 billion (£70 million) upgrade to create state-of-the-art facilities, including a training headquarters, welfare amenities, a gym, offices, storage, and accommodation.
The facility boasts 158 single rooms and 1,400 bed spaces accommodation. The facility also houses an officers' mess, finance and administration building, and indoor exercise buildings.
Our sources within the British Army reveal that deployment to Kenya is a dream come true for many soldiers.
Apart from the attractive per diem given per day, the hedonistic lifestyle consisting of alcohol, sex and endless parties, which many soldiers can barely afford in Britai,n is cheap and readily available in Nanyuki.
Even though Batuk was officially created in 2008, the British military training in Kenya started in 1963.
The dedicated site in Nanyuki was established in 2013 and was completed in 2019.
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