Colonel Neil Hutton has been suspended after shots were allegedly fired at
Kenyans who had walked onto a training ground.
Col Hutton, who is in charge of training troops in Kenya for war in
Afghanistan, fired a shot to scare off a group of locals after a series of
thefts from British troops, the Daily Mail reports.
One of the men had to be hospitalised with a bullet wound that he claimed was
inflicted by British soldiers. The injury was not believed to be
life-threatening.
The group claimed to be herdsmen who had wandered onto the training ground by
mistake.
However, reports claimed the men were trying to steal military equipment
during the night to use poaching game.
The investigation is being carried out by Royal Military Police.
The Ministry of Defence said: "We can confirm that a serving officer is
being investigated following a shooting incident in Kenya which may have
injured a local civilian. It is inappropriate to comment further while the
investigation is ongoing."
Col Hutton, a veteran of the Afghan war, has trained thousands of troops in Kenya.
He was awarded a CBE for his work in Afghanistan in the March 2009 operational
honours list.
