The family of Agnes Wanjiru, a woman from Nanyuki who was allegedly killed by British soldiers in 2012, are planning to travel to the United Kingdom to protest against the authorities' inaction.
During the visit in October, Wanjiru’s niece Esther Njoki, who is the family representative, and the family’s lawyers will seek an audience with lawmakers to demand justice for Wanjiru.
Ms Njoki says that after 13 years of waiting with no outcome but unfulfilled promises, the family has decided to take their cry for justice to the country of the suspected killers.
“Our intention is to lobby and demand the long denied right of our kin Agnes. It will also be a good opportunity to meet with lawmakers in the House of Lords, House of Commons, Minister Defence and activists,” Ms Njoki told Nation .
Wanjiru died in March 2012 after meeting a group of British soldiers during a beer drinking party at a Nanyuki hotel. Her body was discovered weeks later inside a septic tank with stab wounds. Since the discovery of the body, no tangible action has taken place and the killers remain free even after being identified by fellow soldiers as prime suspects in the murder of the 21-year-old hairdresser.
In April this year, the family met UK Defence Secretary John Healey in Nairobi where he said he is determined to see the matter resolved, adding that the UK government would support full investigations. It was the first time the family was accorded an audience by a high ranking UK government official.
But five months later, Ms Njoki says the family continues to face frustrations and she now believes the UK and Kenyan governments are taking them for a ride.
“The frustrations we have faced as a family from the Kenyan government even after assurance from the UK government is the main reason we are heading to London. Since meeting the Defence Minister in April, no action has been taken and nothing has changed,” she said.
Ms Njoki said that after the meeting, the family’s lawyers in Kenya and the UK have been trying to reach out to authorities to seek the next course of action but no answers have been forthcoming.
Wanjiru’s murder is among many human rights abuses that the British soldiers, who conduct military exercises in Laikipia, Isiolo and Samburu counties, have been accused of committing. The Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations instituted a probe.
Other accusations levelled against the foreign soldiers include rape, siring and abandoning children, exposing communities to danger by leaving unexploded ordnance in the training fields, and causing wildfires.
Last month, the UK government paid a compensation of Sh505 million to nearly 8,000 residents bordering Lolldaiga Conservancy who were adversely affected by toxic smoke in March 2021 after the soldiers started a fire that lasted nearly a week. The fire destroyed about 10,000 acres of vegetation. The residents have however complained that the money paid, where majority received Sh22,000 after a four-year wait, was too little to compensate for the health and environmental damage caused by the smoke.
