A UK High Court has agreed to extend an injunction, which stops former British special forces soldier Christian Craighead from telling the story of the 2019 DusitD2 terror attack in Nairobi, Kenya. According to The Guardian and Kenyan media, the order was extended after the Ministry Of Defence (MoD) filed a request to the court. They claim that Craighead violated a secrecy agreement he signed when he joined the United Kingdom Special Forces. The injunction will stay in place until the government’s case against the former soldier is resolved.

The soldier, who goes by the public name Christian Craighead, was part of the security team that responded to the al-Shabaab terrorist group’s attack on DusitD2 Hotel in Riverside Drive, Nairobi. One of the deadliest attacks in Kenya’s history, the shooting left more than 20 people dead. Following the operation, Craighead was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.

The MoD alleges that the book includes information protected by a confidentiality agreement, which prohibits soldiers from providing any information regarding their Special Forces missions, unless they receive written permission from the MoD. In court, Craighead’s lawyers stated that he had signed an agreement which would keep his operational secrets safe for the rest of his life. Counsel for the MoD, Oliver Sanders KC, said Craighead took on the confidentiality obligations willingly.

Furthermore, Mr Justice Saini said Craighead was made aware, by his commanding officers, that they would not approve of the memoir and any kind of publication of his story. Moreover, the judge noted that MoD had a ‘very overwealming case for an injunction’, as Craighead violated the agreement. The soldier was not present during the hearing and was not represented by any lawyers, who have stated that his book will continue to be available outside of the UK.

According to the court documents, Craighead’s One Man In has already been published in the United States. As such, the MoD requested that despite the book already being available there, the UK High Court must keep the injunction against the publication of the soldier’s story. Sanders claimed that the publication’s availability in the States stems from Craighead’s breach of contract. Earlier this year, Craighead sued the government after they refused to give him the green light to publish his book. The High Court reviewed the case in 2023, as part of the judicial review, Craighead argued that the government’s refusal to give him authorisation to publish his story was unlawful.

The documents state that One Man In: The Extraordinary Story Of The Soldier Who Survived Nairobi’s Deadliest Shooting , which has been described as the memoir of the soldier who survived the Nairobi attack, included his account of the operation. Injunction proceedings show that the government claimed that Craighead’s rights to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights did not override the security of the state. The latest proceedings show that the MoD believes the publication includes information that can damage national security. Craighead is still barred from publishing his story in the UK because of the ongoing litigation concerning his confidentiality obligations.