DCI, DPP accused of protecting British Army soldier in Agnes Wanjiru murder case

The family of the late Agnes Wanjiru, the 21-year-old woman who was allegedly raped and murdered by an officer of the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) in 2012, has accused the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of frustrating their quest for justice.

While appearing before the National Assembly’s Defence Committee, the family’s spokesperson, Esther Muchiri, accused the Kenyan investigative agencies of colluding with the British government to mask the identity of the soldier implicated in the gruesome murder.

"This language from the DCI, claiming the investigations are still ongoing 12 years later - this cannot be true. The UK government is hiding behind this excuse because the investigations are in the hands of the Kenyan police. We urge the committee to help us push for the extradition of that soldier,” she said.

The Defence Committee, chaired by Nelson Koech, is currently conducting an inquiry into the conduct of BATUK in Laikipia and Samburu counties. The committee heard firsthand accounts of the frustrations experienced by Wanjiru's family.

"Imagine being told you can't petition the UK for justice because we are poor. Is it our fate to be poor?" Muchiri posed.

Kelvin Kubai, the family’s advocate, questioned why, despite court orders for exhumation to obtain DNA samples from the deceased, the UK government has not matched the DNA to the database of British officers who were in Kenya at the time of Wanjiru's death.

"The British Army has been escaping accountability for serious crimes - murder, defilement, rape. This pattern must end, and they must be held accountable for the sake of our people,” Kubai stated.

Defence Committee Member Millie Odhiambo added: "Out of political good manners between the British and Kenya, can they contribute to that victim's protection fund so that all the identified victims can be supported through that fund? So that we do not have to deal with two things: colonialism and neo-colonialism. This is neo-colonialism."