Agnes Wanjiru Murder: MPs Want British Soldiers to Face Trial in Kenya

British troops who commit murder in Kenya will face trial in the country if recommendations by a Parliamentary committee are adopted.

The proposed changes to the Defense Cooperation Agreement between Kenya and the UK await ratification after they were debated in the National Assembly.

The recommendations were prompted by the alleged murder of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru by a British soldier in Nanyuki over 10 years ago.

“It behooves the host nation to make sure that anyone we’ve signed an agreement with strictly is made to adhere to the rules and regulations of the land, whether the county or Constitutions of this country. Such cases of murder or degradation of the environment would not happen if Kenyan officers were training in the UK. We should allow that to happen on our soil,” said MP Nelson Koech, Chairman of the Defense and Foreign Relations Committee.

If ratified, the amendment would include murder as one of the offenses that would be under the jurisdiction of Kenya.

“The matter of Wanjiru is very traumatic and until the matter is resolved, this country will not be at peace. Crime is crime and murder is a crime and we can’t exempt murder among the crimes that host nation is allowed to try,” Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi said.

The lifeless body of Wanjiru was found in a septic tank at Lions Court Hotel in Nanyuki, two months after she disappeared on March 31st, 2012.

On the night she went missing, the 21-year-old sex worker was at the hotel where tens of British soldiers were drinking beer, dancing, and having sex with local women. She reportedly left the seating area in the company of one of the British soldiers and that was the last time she was seen alive.

Last year, the UK Sunday Times reported that a British soldier confessed to killing Wanjiru and showed his colleagues where he dumped her body. 

The revelations triggered fresh calls for an investigation and justice for Wanjiru, who left behind a five-month-old daughter.

There were claims that Kenyan and British authorities staged a cover-up on the murder to maintain diplomatic relations over the Nanyuki army base, where the UK sends six infantry battalions for eight-week exercises annually.

Following an inquest in 2019, Kenyan judge Njeri Thuku concluded that Wanjiru was murdered by one or two British soldiers. The judge ordered two further criminal inquiries, but the military took no action.

Even though UK authorities have pledged to cooperate with the investigation into the murder of Wanjiru, no one has been arrested or charged.