The niece of a Kenyan woman who was murdered more than a decade ago, allegedly by British soldiers, has said her family now believe the defence secretary “just made a promise for his political gain” when he met them in April.
John Healey told the family of Agnes Wanjiru of his “determination to see a resolution” in the case of her murder, pledging the UK’s full support for the investigation.
But now, almost four months later, Wanjiru’s family say they have been left disappointed, having seen no further progress in their fight for justice.
Wanjiru, then 21, disappeared in March 2012, after last being seen drinking with British soldiers at a bar in the Lion’s Court hotel in Nanyuki, a town in the east of Kenya, where the army has a military base, BATUK.
Her family spent two months looking for her, until her body was found stuffed into a septic tank in the grounds of the hotel. She had been stabbed several times.
Six years ago, an inquest in Kenya found that Wanjiru, who was mother to a then baby girl, had been killed by one or more British soldiers.
In 2021, several soldiers, who at the time were attached to the Duke of Lancaster’s regiment, came forward to name a suspect.
One offered startling testimony in which he claimed the suspect, a fellow Duke of Lancaster soldier, had confessed to her murder on the night, and taken him to see Wanjiru’s body in the septic tank.
While a British soldier is believed to be the primary suspect in the case, under the UK-Kenya defence cooperation agreement, jurisdiction for investigating the murder lies with the Kenyan authorities.
Kenyan police have flown to the UK several times, and are believed to have questioned multiple witnesses. In April, Kenyan police said a file had been passed to the Kenyan director of public prosecutions for a charging decision.
Yet almost four years on from a suspect being identified, nobody has been arrested or charged in relation to the murder.
Wanjiru’s niece Esther Njoki, 21, was eight years old in 2012, and said her memories of her aunt drove her fight for justice.
“The reason why I’m passionate about this case and that I’ve been fighting, it’s what she did in the family,” she said.
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“She used to take care of me when my mum was not there. She used to cook, braid my hair, everything. So that’s why I’m so passionate to fight for her rights.”
“She was always jovial, smiling, hard-working. We were always laughing because of her jokes and everything,” she added. “It’s very heartbreaking. She was kind, she was everything, we miss her.”
While in opposition, Healey called for more to be done to “pursue justice for Agnes and her family”, but Njoki says they are disappointed that more has not been done in the year since Labour came to power.
“I think he just made a promise for his political gain,” Njoki said, “I think he’s taking us for a ride.”
“They hide behind investigation,” she added, “because every time we raise any issue, they say ‘investigation, investigation’, we don’t know the status of the investigation.”
Njoki, who is studying communications and acts as a spokesperson for the family, is currently raising funds to come to the UK in the autumn in order to meet with campaigners, hold a press conference, and lobby politicians directly.
“I want to come and lobby there, so that they can take this matter seriously,” she said, “because they know the family can’t come to UK to seek justice there.”
Justice, Njoki said, would mean closure. Her family believed that the government could do more.
“They have power, but they have refused, and it’s heartbreaking,” she said. “Agnes was a human being.”
“I think if she were around right now, everything would be so perfect,” she added, “but now that she’s not there, we are left to seek justice for her, with our hearts broken, being frustrated, and it’s the worst thing.”
Tessa Gregory, a partner at the law firm Leigh Day, who is acting on behalf of the family, said: “It is now 13 years since Agnes’ body was found in a septic tank, the Kenyan criminal investigation has been ongoing for years, and while the file was reportedly sent to the [Kenyan] DPP months ago, a charging decision is still awaited. The family are frustrated with both the lack of progress in the criminal proceedings and the lack of engagement from the British government.”
She added: “They hope that the secretary of state will do everything within his power to ensure that those held responsible are brought to account swiftly and that the role of the British army in Agnes’ death, including as to why nothing was done for nearly a decade after the murder, is thoroughly and independently examined.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: “Our thoughts remain with the family of Agnes Wanjiru, and the defence secretary has long recognised the tragic circumstances of her death.
“The jurisdiction for this investigation lies with the Kenyan authorities. The defence secretary welcomed the confirmation that the case file had been handed over to the director of public prosecutions for a charging decision during his visit to Kenya in April 2025.
“We will continue to work closely with the Kenyan authorities for the justice the family deserves. In order to protect the integrity of the Kenyan investigation and in the interests of justice for Agnes Wanjiru’s family, we are unable to comment further.”
