Kenya court orders UK soldier’s arrest for Agnes Wanjiru death: All we know

A Kenyan court this week ordered the arrest and extradition of a British national who is alleged to have murdered a 21-year-old woman in a town close to a Kenyan army training camp in 2012?

The young woman’s murder in Nanyuki, central Kenya, shook her community and sparked outrage nationwide, as a result of the ruling.

Agnes Wanjiru’s fate, what happened to her?

In Nanyuki, her hometown, Wanjiru, age 21, worked as a sex worker and hairdresser.

Wanjiru vanished on March 31 in the middle of nowhere. Witnesses reported that she was last seen at the Lion’s Court Lodge with fellow British soldiers on a night out. British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), a permanent garrison in Nanyuki, are a fan of the hotel.

Wanjiru’s body was discovered in a septic tank close to the hotel on June 5th.

A Kenyan magistrate said in a 2019 inquest that she had been beaten, stabbed, and was most likely still alive when she was thrown into the septic tank. The daughter of Wanjiru, who was just a few months old, is now 13 and is being cared for by her grandmother and an aunt.

In 2021, allegations of a British soldier’s murder were made public by a Sunday Times investigation that led to the alleged stabbery of Wanjiru in the chest and abdomen of “Soldier X,” who Wanjiru was last seen with. The soldier showed his colleagues where he dumped her body and revealed how he had acted. At least one of them notified BATUK’s senior commanders of this. If any steps were taken, it’s not clear.

In addition to making fun of the murdered woman in Facebook posts, “Soldier X” and a number of others were exposed in the Sunday Times investigation.

Initial resistance from her family members came from Kenya because the British government, under the former Conservative Party, claimed Kenyan courts lacked jurisdiction over British troops. However, the British government’s position changed following the Sunday Times exposé.

In order to allow British troops to be tried locally in Kenya, a UK parliament vote in April 2023 changed the security arrangements between the two nations. The Kenyan government formally opened an investigation into Wanjiru’s murder in August 2023. Investigators from Kenya are alleged to have visited the UK since then several times to speak with witnesses.

What was said by the judge?

On Tuesday, Justice Alexander Muteti of the Nairobi High Court issued a warrant for “one citizen and resident of the United Kingdom” and stated that there was “probable cause to order the arrest of the accused.”

Family members of the late woman questioned the court’s decision to not name the suspect.

British national linked to the murder of Agnes Wanjiru is arrested by DPP.
After the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was successful in obtaining a… picture, the fight for justice for Agnes Wanjiru, a young mother who was brutally murdered in Nanyuki more than a decade ago, has gained new momentum. Twitter.com/q5dPCwpLE

In a statement on X, Kenya’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) stated that “extradition proceedings would now be started to ensure the suspect is brought before a Kenyan court.”

The DPP informed the High Court of the fact that the suspect, a citizen of the United Kingdom, is a suspect in the murder, according to the statement, adding that extradition proceedings will be started.

The DPP stated that the case will be heard in court on October 21, 2025.

Lion's Court hotel Kenya — On November 4, 2012, in Nanyuki, Kenya, a pedestrian passes Lion’s Court Lodge, where Agnes Wanjiru is alleged to have been killed by a British soldier.

Describe BATUK.

A permanent training support force called the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), which is based on the outskirts of Nanyuki, has been in operation since Kenya gained independence in 1963. The BATUK training camp has hosted a large number of British infantrymen for challenging terrain exercises.

There are 280 UK-based short-term regiments that rotate, with roughly 100 permanent members. Both Kenyan troops and British troops stationed there are members of anti-terrorism squads that are focused on the armed group al-Shabab in neighboring Somalia.

Although the British soldiers’ presence has helped the local economy, there have been complaints about how the locals treat the local population and how they treat the environment. Residents of Nanyuki complain about the presence of white phosphorus, a lethal chemical, left behind after training exercises, as well as the explosion of bombs that have killed and injured community members. In one case from 2021, it is thought that the substance set off a sizable fire that destroyed large tracts of forest land.

There are numerous rumors that the soldiers pay local women for sex. In an effort to stop sexual exploitation and abuse, the UK’s Ministry of Defense outlawed the use of sex workers abroad in July 2022. However, according to a report released by the British army in August 2024, soldiers there were still using sex workers at a “low or moderate level” ().

What has the government of the UK said?

The British High Commission in Kenya reiterated earlier assurances that it would work with Kenyan authorities on the matter, but the AP reported that the agency had not confirmed or refuted the suspect’s extradition request.

In response to the decision, a spokesperson for the UK government told The Guardian: “Our thoughts are still with the family of Agnes Wanjiru and we are unwaveringly committed to supporting their pursuit of justice.”

The spokesperson continued, “We understand that the Kenyan director of public prosecutions has decided that a British national should be tried in connection with Ms Wanjiru’s 2012 murder.

We will not comment further at this time because this is still being litigated.