Kenya Issues Arrest Warrant for UK Soldier

By Staff, Agencies

Kenya’s High Court has issued an arrest warrant for a British soldier accused of killing Kenyan woman Agnes Wanjiru, opening the way for his extradition from the UK.

Justice Alexander Muteti ordered the arrest on Tuesday after an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who said the suspect is in the UK and must be brought to Nairobi to stand trial. The court withheld the soldier’s name.

“Following an application by DPP against the said suspect, this court grants the warrant of arrest as prayed,” Muteti said, as quoted by a local outlet.

The 21-year-old woman was killed in 2012. Her mutilated body was found in a hotel septic tank near the British Army Training Unit Kenya’s (BATUK) permanent garrison in Nanyuki. Wanjiru had been missing for several weeks after reportedly spending a night partying with British soldiers. 

A 2019 Kenyan inquiry found British soldiers responsible for the woman’s death and recommended further investigation. In 2021, a British soldier reportedly confessed, but prosecutors have not filed charges until now.

In November 2023, the BATUK asked the Kenyan High Court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Wanjiru’s family, arguing that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction. 

The issue of jurisdiction over British soldiers who violate Kenyan law has sparked disagreement between London and Nairobi.

Other incidents, such as claims of environmental breaches by the BATUK, have sparked local protests.

The Wanjiru family’s lawyer, Mbiyu Kamau, told RT that London had “not been cooperative,” accusing senior military officers of covering up the case and flying the suspect out of Kenya instead of handing him over to the authorities.

Kamau added that the arrest warrant was issued “in a hideous way, without involving the family.”

Kamau earlier said the British Army’s claim of immunity from prosecution in Kenya is false.

He argued that Kenyan courts have jurisdiction since the crime occurred there, adding that “they [the British Army] are just playing around by claiming immunity.”