2021 Lolldaiga conservancy wildfire

The 2021 Lolldaiga conservancy wildfire was a man made disaster caused by soldiers of the British Army who set fire to a nature reserve in central Kenya during a military training exercise.^[1][2]

The fire destroyed 12,000 acres of land belonging to the Lolldaiga conservancy, which was home to lions, hyenas, elephants, jackals, and the rare endangered Grévy's zebra.^[1]

One man, Linus Murangiri, was crushed to death by a vehicle during attempts to put out the fires.^[1] There were also reports of elderly people suffering eye injuries and a baby being hospitalised for smoke inhalation.^[1]

During a court hearing into the incident, some of the soldiers who started the fire were alleged to have been high on cocaine.^[3] After the fire, British soldiers made jokes about the incident.^[4] According to the BBC one soldier wrote: "

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."^[1]

According to the BBC, the incident led to an environmental lawsuit signed by almost 1,000 local residents.^[1] In 2022 the Kenya News Agency reported that 6,000 local residents had filed for compensation from the British Army.^[5]

In 2025, the UK government agreed to pay compensation to 7,723 claimants affected by the wildfire.^[6]