A Kenyan family is intensifying efforts to seek justice for its kin, Agnes Wanjiru, who was allegedly murdered by a former British army soldier in 2012.
The family’s representative has traveled to the United Kingdom to meet senior government officials, including the defense secretary and Members of Parliament, in a renewed push for the suspect’s extradition to Kenya.
Additionally, the family of the victim plans to sue the Ministry of Defense to demand answers over her death.
The body of Agnes Wanjiru, 21, was found in 2012 after she reportedly went out partying with British soldiers at the Lions Court hotel in the central town of Nanyuki, where the UK army has a permanent garrison.
Family’s Plea for Accountability
Speaking before she arrived in the UK, Agnes Wanjiru’s niece, Esther Njoki, a 21-year-old communications student from Nairobi, told the BBC she was determined to ensure accountability.
“The UK has been too slow in acting, our whole family has experienced years of trauma, which has been made worse by the continued failure to act by the authorities – both Kenyan and British,” Ms Njoki said.
Njoki added that Agnes, who was her aunt, was a “poor Kenyan woman” whose case was ignored for years.
“For a long time, people didn’t care,” she stated, emphasizing that the family had been left to fight for justice on their own.
Despite the setbacks, the family, supported by human rights groups and feminist organizations, continued to push for action.
Their efforts led to the opening of an inquest in 2018, which concluded in 2019 that Agnes Wanjiru had been unlawfully killed by one or two British soldiers.
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The post-mortem revealed fatal stab wounds to her chest and abdomen.
Arrest Warrant Issued in Kenya
In September 2025, the High Court in Kenya issued an arrest warrant for a British national accused of murdering a 21-year-old Kenyan woman in Nanyuki, about 200 kilometers north of Nairobi.
Agnes Wanjiru’s body was found in a septic tank at a hotel near a British army training camp.
On the night she disappeared, she had reportedly been at a bar with friends where British soldiers were also present.
The case, which has remained unresolved for over a decade, has drawn public attention and sparked criticism of both the British and Kenyan authorities.
The family has long accused the two governments of negligence and delay in pursuing justice.
“We are seeking the justice our family has been denied for 13 years,” Njoki said.
Renewed Calls After Army Review
In 2021, The Sunday Times reported that a British soldier had confessed to fellow soldiers that he had killed Agnes.
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The suspect later left the army and has reportedly continued to live in the UK.
The following year, the British army announced an internal review into the conduct of its personnel stationed in Kenya, including Nanyuki.
The 2024 review identified 35 suspected cases of sexual exploitation and abuse involving local women.
Notably, nine of these cases occurred after the army had formally banned such behaviour in 2022.
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