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

A Kenyan tribunal this week ordered the apprehension and extradition of a British nationalist suspected of murdering a 21-year-old pistillate successful a municipality adjacent to a United Kingdom service grooming campy successful Kenya successful 2012.

The ruling has brought renewed attraction to the long-running lawsuit of the young woman, Agnes Wanjiru, whose execution successful Nanyuki, cardinal Kenya, shook her assemblage and sparked nationwide outrage.

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Nanyuki assemblage members person agelong accused British soldiers grooming successful a garrison adjacent to the municipality of gross misconduct; however, nary suspects person been tried.

If the extradition goes ahead, it could people the archetypal clip that a existent oregon erstwhile British worker volition beryllium extradited to look proceedings successful different state for a civilian’s murder, according to the UK’s Guardian newspaper. In a statement, the UK authorities acknowledged the ruling and promised to cooperate with Kenyan authorities successful the case.

Reacting to the ruling, Wanjiru’s household said connected Tuesday they had waited “too long” for justness but hoped that it would present arrive, according to reporting by The Associated Press (AP) quality agency.

“While this is progress, it is not justness yet,” household spokesperson Esther Muchiri said.

John Muchiri Kamunge, brother-in-law to Agnes Wanjiru, who was allegedly killed by a British worker successful 2012, visits her sedate astatine a cemetery successful Nanyuki, Kenya, Thursday, November 4, 2021 [Brian Inganga/AP Photo]

What happened to Agnes Wanjiru?

Twenty-one-year-old Wanjiru worked arsenic a hairdresser and a enactment idiosyncratic successful Nanyuki, her hometown.

On the nighttime of March 31, Wanjiru disappeared. Witnesses said she was past seen successful the institution of British soldiers connected a nighttime retired astatine the Lion’s Court Lodge. The edifice is fashionable with British soldiers of the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), a imperishable garrison successful Nanyuki.

Two months later, connected June 5, Wanjiru’s assemblage was recovered successful a septic vessel located adjacent to the hotel.

She had been beaten, stabbed, and was astir apt inactive live erstwhile she was thrown into the septic tank, a Kenyan magistrate said successful a 2019 inquest. Wanjiru’s daughter, who was conscionable a fewer months old, is present 13 and is being raised by her grandma and an aunt.

The allegations against a British worker came to airy successful 2021 erstwhile a Sunday Times probe revealed that “Soldier X”, whom Wanjiru was past seen with, was believed to person stabbed her successful the thorax and abdomen. The worker revealed his actions to colleagues and showed them wherever helium dumped her body. At slightest 1 of them reported this to elder commanders astatine BATUK. It’s unclear if immoderate enactment was taken.

The Sunday Times’ probe revealed “Soldier X” and respective others further poked amusive astatine the murdered pistillate successful Facebook posts.

Attempts by her household to writer BATUK successful Kenya were initially met with absorption due to the fact that the British government, nether the erstwhile ruling Conservative Party, claimed Kenyan courts did not person jurisdiction implicit UK troops. Following the Sunday Times exposé, however, the British government’s stance changed.

A UK parliament ballot successful April 2023 amended information agreements betwixt the 2 countries to let for British troops to beryllium tried locally successful Kenya. In August 2023, the Kenyan authorities officially launched an enquiry into Wanjiru’s killing. Kenyan investigators are understood to person travelled respective times to the UK since past to talk to witnesses.

What did the tribunal say?

Nairobi High Court Justice Alexander Muteti connected Tuesday said determination was “probable origin to bid the apprehension of the accused” and issued a warrant for “one national and nonmigratory of the United Kingdom”.

The tribunal did not sanction the suspect, a determination that household members of the precocious pistillate questioned.

DPP secures apprehension warrant for Briton linked to Agnes Wanjiru murder

The pursuit of justness for Agnes Wanjiru, a young parent brutally killed successful Nanyuki much than a decennary ago, has gained caller momentum aft the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) successfully obtained a… pic.twitter.com/3Q5dPCwpLE

— Office of The Director Of Public Prosecutions (@ODPP_KE) September 16, 2025

Kenya’s bureau for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said successful a connection connected X that “extradition proceedings would present beryllium initiated to guarantee the fishy is brought earlier a Kenyan court”.

“Today, the DPP informed the High Court that grounds gathered links the suspect, a United Kingdom citizen, to the murder,” the connection read, adding that the extradition proceedings volition beryllium initiated.

The lawsuit volition adjacent beryllium heard successful tribunal connected October 21, 2025, the DPP said.

A pedestrian walks past Lion’s Court Lodge, wherever Agnes Wanjiru was allegedly killed by a British worker successful 2012, successful Nanyuki, Kenya, Thursday, November 4, 2021 [Brian Inganga/AP Photo]

What is BATUK?

The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) is simply a imperishable grooming enactment unit based connected the outskirts of Nanyuki that has been operating since Kenya gained independency successful 1963. Thousands of British infantrymen person passed done the BATUK grooming campy for exercises successful harsh terrain.

The portion has immoderate 100 imperishable unit and astir 280 rotating short-term regiments from the UK. British troops bid determination arsenic good arsenic Kenyan troops who are portion of antiterrorism squads focused connected the equipped radical al-Shabab successful neighbouring Somalia.

While the British soldiers’ beingness has bolstered the section economy, determination person been complaints astir their behaviour towards section radical and the mode they dainty the section environment. Residents of Nanyuki kick of unexploded bombs that person detonated and maimed assemblage members, and the beingness of achromatic phosphorus, a lethal chemical, near down aft grooming exercises. In 1 lawsuit successful 2021, the chemic is believed to person started a ample occurrence that damaged swaths of wood land.

Allegations that the soldiers wage section women for enactment are rife. In July 2022, the UK’s Ministry of Defence banned soldiers from utilizing enactment workers overseas arsenic portion of efforts to curb intersexual exploitation and abuse. In an August 2024 study conducted by the British service into activities astatine BATUK, however, officials recovered that soldiers determination were inactive utilizing enactment workers astatine a “low oregon mean level”.

What has the UK authorities said?

The British High Commission successful Kenya reiterated earlier commitments that it would cooperate with Kenyan authorities connected the case, but did not corroborate oregon contradict that an extradition petition for the fishy had been issued, according to the AP.

According to The Guardian, a spokesperson for the UK government, reacting to the ruling, said: “Our thoughts stay with the household of Agnes Wanjiru and we stay perfectly committed to helping them unafraid justice.”

The spokesperson added: “We recognize that the Kenyan manager of nationalist prosecutions has determined that a British nationalist should look proceedings successful narration to the execution of Ms Wanjiru successful 2012.

“This is taxable to ongoing ineligible proceedings, and we volition not remark further astatine this stage.”

In April this year, UK Secretary of Defence John Healey met with Wanjiru’s household and promised to assistance the household get “the justness they deserve”.