More than a decade after Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old mother, was killed in Kenya, allegedly by a British soldier, a Kenyan court has issued an arrest warrant for a UK national. If there is an extradition, it would be the first time a serving or former British soldier is sent abroad to face trial for the murder of a civilian – a move her friends would welcome.
On the night she went missing on 31 March 2012, Agnes begged her childhood friends Friend A and Friend B to come out with her. Agnes and Friend A were both new mothers, both 21-years-old, both wanting to let off some steam. Friend B was eager to go out too, and agreed to meet them at the bar at Lions Court Hotel - located in the business district of Nanyuki, a market town in central Kenya, around 124 miles (200km) north of Nairobi.
That evening, Friend B's mother agreed to watch over Agnes's five-month-old daughter for a small babysitting fee. With childcare settled, Agnes and Friend A set off, making their first stop at a bar called Sherlock's. There were a lot of muzungu (white) men there, says Friend A. I remember some were in plain clothes and some were in army clothes.
The British Army has a permanent training support base in Nanyuki, and white men, many of them soldiers, were a familiar presence. Locals referred to them as Johnnies, a nickname that carries unsavoury connotations. They made me uncomfortable because I'd heard bad things about muzungu men, Friend A recalls.
Muzungus don't treat us Kenyan women well, adds Friend B. Johnnies, especially, mistreat us. They disrespect us.
For young women like Agnes, the risks of engaging with these men were often weighed against the struggle to make ends meet. When women are financially desperate, they will do almost anything to survive, Friend A says. I don't believe Agnes was a sex worker though. I never saw her do that. She was very poor.
Her friends say that on a good day Agnes would earn around 300 Kenyan shillings - less than £1 ($1.35). On a bad day there was nothing at all, and she relied on the goodwill of her loving elder sister. Agnes did not have any financial support from the father of her child, and her friends say she was constantly trying to earn money, mostly working in salons and braiding people's hair, at times turning to more unconventional means.
At Sherlock's bar that night, Friend A was scrolling through Facebook when she noticed Agnes in what appeared to be a tense exchange with a white man. When I approached her to ask her if she was OK, she told me to go to Lions Court as planned and that she would join me shortly.
By early evening when Agnes had still not returned, Friend B and another friend went to Nanyuki police station to report her missing. Nearly three months later, Agnes's body was discovered in a septic tank near the hotel. She had been stabbed.
It would take years before Agnes Wanjiru's murder drew wider attention. Kenyan judge Njeri Thuku concluded after an inquest in 2019 that Agnes had been murdered by one or two British soldiers, a revelation that triggered scrutiny over military conduct towards local communities. The growing momentum has seen UK officials finally meeting with Agnes’s family, but her friends argue that justice remains elusive.
“Agnes's murder cannot be discounted,” says Friend A. We want justice for Agnes and her daughter.” Advocacy for accountability continues as many hope for a newfound focus on the treatment of vulnerable women in similar contexts.
On the night she went missing on 31 March 2012, Agnes begged her childhood friends Friend A and Friend B to come out with her. Agnes and Friend A were both new mothers, both 21-years-old, both wanting to let off some steam. Friend B was eager to go out too, and agreed to meet them at the bar at Lions Court Hotel - located in the business district of Nanyuki, a market town in central Kenya, around 124 miles (200km) north of Nairobi.
That evening, Friend B's mother agreed to watch over Agnes's five-month-old daughter for a small babysitting fee. With childcare settled, Agnes and Friend A set off, making their first stop at a bar called Sherlock's. There were a lot of muzungu (white) men there, says Friend A. I remember some were in plain clothes and some were in army clothes.
The British Army has a permanent training support base in Nanyuki, and white men, many of them soldiers, were a familiar presence. Locals referred to them as Johnnies, a nickname that carries unsavoury connotations. They made me uncomfortable because I'd heard bad things about muzungu men, Friend A recalls.
Muzungus don't treat us Kenyan women well, adds Friend B. Johnnies, especially, mistreat us. They disrespect us.
For young women like Agnes, the risks of engaging with these men were often weighed against the struggle to make ends meet. When women are financially desperate, they will do almost anything to survive, Friend A says. I don't believe Agnes was a sex worker though. I never saw her do that. She was very poor.
Her friends say that on a good day Agnes would earn around 300 Kenyan shillings - less than £1 ($1.35). On a bad day there was nothing at all, and she relied on the goodwill of her loving elder sister. Agnes did not have any financial support from the father of her child, and her friends say she was constantly trying to earn money, mostly working in salons and braiding people's hair, at times turning to more unconventional means.
At Sherlock's bar that night, Friend A was scrolling through Facebook when she noticed Agnes in what appeared to be a tense exchange with a white man. When I approached her to ask her if she was OK, she told me to go to Lions Court as planned and that she would join me shortly.
By early evening when Agnes had still not returned, Friend B and another friend went to Nanyuki police station to report her missing. Nearly three months later, Agnes's body was discovered in a septic tank near the hotel. She had been stabbed.
It would take years before Agnes Wanjiru's murder drew wider attention. Kenyan judge Njeri Thuku concluded after an inquest in 2019 that Agnes had been murdered by one or two British soldiers, a revelation that triggered scrutiny over military conduct towards local communities. The growing momentum has seen UK officials finally meeting with Agnes’s family, but her friends argue that justice remains elusive.
“Agnes's murder cannot be discounted,” says Friend A. We want justice for Agnes and her daughter.” Advocacy for accountability continues as many hope for a newfound focus on the treatment of vulnerable women in similar contexts.
