Kenya Insights

Tag: British soldiers

  • Family Of Agnes Wanjiru Murdered By British Soldier Sues UK Govt

    Family Of Agnes Wanjiru Murdered By British Soldier Sues UK Govt

    The family of a 21-year-old Kenyan woman said to have been murdered by a British soldier are taking legal action against the Ministry of Defence.

    Relatives of Agnes Wanjiru, a single mother to a young baby, have instructed British legal firm Leigh Day to represent them in a bid to find answers to her death and why it has never been investigated in the UK.

    Ms Wanjiru was found dead in a septic tank behind the Lions Court hotel in Nanyuki, central Kenya, close to a British Army training camp two months after she disappeared in March 2012.

    The inquest into her death found she had been murdered by a British soldier.

    Tessa Gregory, a partner at Leigh Day, told Sky News: “It just seems extraordinary that there are clear allegations that appear to have been well known that a 21-year-old woman in Kenya was brutally murdered by a British soldier whilst they were training in Kenya.

    “And yet the family have no answers at all and the Royal Military Police here do not appear to have done a full investigation into the circumstances of the death.

    “We have written to the Ministry of Defence to notify them that we’re instructed and to ask for all the details of the investigations they’ve carried out.

    “What we want is for a proper independent investigation to be carried out into both the circumstances of Agnes’ death and also how it is that nine years later, nothing has been done to address this.”

    A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: “The jurisdiction for this investigation rests with the Kenyan police who we continue to work with on a daily basis to provide all possible support.

    “This remains an active investigation with multiple lines of enquiry. In order to protect the investigation, and in the interests of justice we cannot comment further.”

    Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai has directed the DCI to re-open the case on the alleged murder of Agnes Wanjiru.

    Mutyambai directed investigators to compile all the available evidence and witness accounts and ensure the case is concluded before a court of law.

    “I have directed the DCI to re-open the case and compile all the available evidence and witness accounts and ensure the case is concluded before a court of law,” said Mutyambai.

    He also called on authorities in the United Kingdom to collaborate with their Kenyan counterparts to conclude the case and administer justice.

    The family of the late Agnes Wanjiru is agitating for justice and compensation after details emerged of how a British soldier in Nanyuki brutally murdered the 21-year-old mother of one.

    Sunday Times, a UK publication detailed how the accused soldier confessed to fellow soldiers, with reports of cover-up of the murder by British Army bosses now emerging.

    Wanjiru was brutally murdered back in 2012 when the daughter was just nine months old at the time.

    An inquest into the murder of Agnes that concluded in November 2018 read in part: “I find it fit to close the inquest and, in my opinion, find that there was an offence as committed.”

    The decision was delivered and signed by Njeri Thuku, a Principal Magistrate at the Nanyuki law courts.

    The trail into the investigations of the murder has grown cold since then with the suspect yet to be brought to book.

  • British Soldier Killed A Kenyan Mother After Sex With Her And Army Bosses Covered It Up

    British Soldier Killed A Kenyan Mother After Sex With Her And Army Bosses Covered It Up

    British Ministers have been urged to support the investigation to cover up a murder case in Kenya involving a 21-year-old sex worker and British soldiers.

    The body of Agnes Wanjiru was found in the septic tank at Lions Court Hotel in Nanyuki two months after her disappearance in March 2012. The town is a 10-minute car journey from British military training unit Kenya.

    The initial inquiry was unsuccessful, but a new investigation was launched after a delayed hearing until 2019, when Mrs Wanjiru was found to have been illegally killed. The Sunday Times Reported last month.

    And in the new development, a soldier accused of murder is named by his accomplices, writes the newspaper this weekend.

    The soldier confessed to the murder, and at the time another soldier reported it to senior officers – though no action was taken.

    A post-mortem examination revealed that Wanjiru died of stab wounds to his chest and abdomen.

    There was also evidence of her being shot, although it is not clear whether she was sexually assaulted by her body condition.

    Witnesses say Ms Wanjiru, a known sex worker, was last seen leaving a hotel bar with two British soldiers.

    Witnesses said The Sunday Times Mrs Wanjiru, a renowned sex worker, was last seen leaving the hotel bar with two British soldiers.

    Labour’s shadow defense secretary, John Healy, has accused his Tory anti-Ben Wallace case of “not taking it seriously”. “They must pledge full cooperation to Kenyan detectives and investigate any potential cover-up by the Commanding Officers, the Military Police or the MOD,” Mr Healy said of the Secretary of State.

    He continued: “The details of the death of this Kenyan young woman are horrible, but there is no action by the defense ministers over reports of serious failures of the British military revealed in this case.

    “When our troops serve abroad, they stand up for British values ​​and, if these allegations are proved, deeply betray those values.”

    Mr Healy said nine years later, “justice must now be given to Agnes and her family.”

    Labor MP Jess Phillips, who tweeted about the story, described it as a “tragic story” and said it was a “pressing defense secretary for answers.”

    “Her name is Agnes Wanjiru and we are hers,” Phillips said.

    Mrs. Wanjiru, a hairdresser who recently turned to sex work for her five-month-old baby, Stacey, last saw her on the evening of 31 March 2012.

    Her body was found naked, without fingers and toes, behind the soldiers’ quarters. Mrs. Wanjiru had a 2 cm stab wound to her lower right abdomen and a blunt force to her chest. The Sunday Times Details. Her lungs were also collapsing.

    In June 2012, when Kenyan police requested the British Royal Military Police (RMP), nine soldiers were interrogated, the investigation into Mrs Wanjiru’s death was halted.

    The detectives told the RMP to ask the soldiers 13 questions, including whether Wanjiru had sex on the night he disappeared.

    A photo of the victim is included in the request, along with a request to take DNA samples from nine people.

    According to the report, the man who confessed to the murder was not among the nine The Sunday Times.

    “The jurisdiction of this investigation rests with Kenyan police, and we are currently discussing with Kenyan authorities to determine what support they need,” a MoD spokesman said.

    “It is inappropriate to comment further as it is subject to ongoing investigation.”