NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 2 – Europe is facing new criticism for its actions in Kenya.
A report by Swedwatch, working with the Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN), shows that the European Union exported 122,000 tonnes of banned pesticides to Kenya in 2022.
These chemicals are illegal in Europe because they are toxic, but here they are harming people and the environment.
Farmers and villagers are already feeling the effects. In Kiambu, one farmer lamented on the effects.p
“Our children get rashes that don’t go away. The rivers carry dead fish, and no one seems to care.”
The report comes just after the British Army stopped using white phosphorus shells in Laikipia, which in the past burned pastures and killed livestock.
Activists say these are only part of the bigger problem of foreign forces and companies causing harm in Kenya.
In Nairobi’s Uhuru Gardens, activists painted murals to honor victims of abuse by British soldiers in Nanyuki. Simple names and dates on the walls send a clear message: justice has not been done.
The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) has been in the country since the 1960s.
But allegations of misconduct keep surfacing.
A hidden camera last year showed a soldier paying for sex near the base, and no one was punished.
A human rights advocate said “military courts in Britain convict rape only 23 percent of the time, while civilian courts manage 70 percent. The difference is shocking.”
The chemicals exported by Europe are causing health problems too.
Farmers report poisoned soil, dying bees, and rising cancer cases.
Experts say Europe bans these chemicals at home because they are dangerous, but Kenyan communities are forced to deal with the risks.
Kenya has tried to act. In 2025, it banned 77 dangerous pesticides and restricted hundreds more.
NGOs teach farmers safer methods, like planting companion crops and using natural sprays like neem.
Still, people are frustrated. “We welcome partnerships and trade, but not when our children pay the price,” a Nanyuki resident whose daughter got sick near the army base said
Activists say Europe and foreign powers need to take responsibility.
