The United Kingdom (UK) Defence Secretary John Healy met Esther Njoki, the niece of slain Agnes Wanjiru, in London amid growing public pressure for accountability over Wanjiru’s killing.
The Tuesday meeting followed determination by the Director of Public Prosecution that a British soldier should face trial for the murder of Wanjiru in Nanyuki in 2012.
According to a UK government statement, Healey and Njoki discussed the progress made in the case, with the UK government assuring the family of their continued support for the investigation until a resolution is reached.
“Our Government will continue to do everything we can to support the Kenyan investigation, secure a resolution to this case and finally bring peace to Esther and her grieving family,” the statement read in part.
Njoki, speaking after the meeting, urged the UK government to speed up the process and ensure that the British soldier responsible for her aunt’s death is arrested and brought to trial.
“We are urging him [Secretary Healey] and the [UK] government to do everything in their power to ensure the man arrested is extradited to Kenya and faces trial without further delay,” said Njoki.
In April this year, Healy had visited Nairobi and visited Wanjiru’s family with the Tuesday meeting now the second time he has met representatives of Wanjiru’s family.
The London meeting took place weeks after the High Court issued a warrant for the arrest of a British military officer accused of killing Wanjiru.
The soldier, who was part of the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK), has not yet been identified. Initially, the British government had assured that it would reveal the soldier's identity.
Wanjiku's Murder
Wanjiku, then 21, went missing in 2012 after she was last seen in the company of British soldiers in a hotel near the BATUK military base.
A two-month search for her resulted in her body being found stuffed in a septic tank in the grounds of the hotel. Wanjiku was found with multiple stab wounds, indicating a possible murder.
Later in 2019, a Kenyan inquest found that Wanjiku had been murdered by one or several soldiers.
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