Esther Njoki 20, niece of the late Agnes Wanjiru (inset), when she appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Defence Intelligence and Foreign Relations on September 3, 2024.
Esther Njoki, whose aunt was reportedly killed by a British soldier in 2012, landed in Kenya from the United Kingdom with renewed hope of justice on Thursday.
During her four-days visit, Agnes Wanjiru’s niece held talks with British Defence Secretary John Healey, MPs in the House of Commons and activists in an effort to have the murder suspect flown to Kenya to face trial.
“There is hope and we commend the Secretary of State for Defence for his determination to ensure justice is served,” Ms Njoki told the Daily Nation.
“We will also pressure the Kenya and UK governments to speed up the extradition of the suspect. He must be punished for that crime.”
The suspect was unmasked as Robert James Purkiss, 38, who was among a group of soldiers last seen with Wanjiru on the day of her disappearance.
Wanjiru’s body was found in a septic tank at Lion Court Hotel, Nanyuki, weeks after she went missing.
The murder has become a painful symbol of injustice and strained diplomatic ties between Kenya and the UK.
Mr Healey met Wanjiru’s family in Nanyuki in April – becoming the first British minister to do so since the killing.
However, the second encounter in London carried new weight: the man long suspected of killing Wanjiru has already been named and charged by Kenyan authorities.
“I was pleased to welcome Esther to London to reiterate our government’s steadfast support for her family’s long and painful fight for justice,” Mr Healey said after the meeting.
Ms Rose Wanyua Wanjiku holds the portrait of her slain sister Agnes Wanjiru at her home in Majengo Estate, Nanyuki Town on Sunday, November 5, 2023.
“We have seen significant progress with the case file now in the hands of prosecutors and a charging decision made. Our government will continue to do everything we can to support the Kenyan investigation and help bring peace to her family.”
For Ms Njoki, the meeting was emotional and necessary.
“The loss of my aunt left a scar on our family,” she said.
“We are still far from justice. The family urges the UK government to ensure he is flown to Kenya and charged with murder without further delay.”
She said the meeting with MPs went on well.
“British lawmakers now understand better what victims of soldiers’ atrocities go through. This is due to the failure of systems and also about the conduct of their troops while in foreign countries,” Ms Njoki said.
Wanjiru’s story began in March 2012 in Nanyuki, a garrison town that hosts the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk).
The 21-year-old mother of one was last seen at the hotel soldiers from the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment were drinking. Several witnesses said she left the hotel with a British soldier.
The family buried her without answers. In 2019, an inquest in Kenya ruled that Wanjiru had been killed and that British soldiers were responsible. Still, no one was arraigned for murder.
In 2021, an investigation by The Sunday Times reignited the case, revealing testimony from British soldiers who said a colleague had boasted about killing a woman and shown others where her body was.
There was outrage in both countries, leading to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) looking into the case.
Agnes Wanjiru, who was found dead in 2012 after she went missing.
Purkiss was a medical worker with Batuk at the time. A warrant of arrest against him has since been issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Wanjiru case has tested the Kenya-UK ties. Britain says it will cooperate fully with Kenya on the case while respecting local legal processes.
For many Kenyans, though, the case symbolises a broader unease about the conduct of foreign soldiers stationed in the country.
For years, residents of the areas near Batuk training grounds in Laikipia and Samburu have complained about impunity and lack of redress when soldiers are involved in crime.
Extradition can take years and Britain must navigate legal and political sensitivities.
“Justice for my aunt means justice for every Kenyan woman whose pain has been ignored,” Ms Njoki said after meeting the minister.
