The High Court has ordered the arrest of a British military officer accused of killing Agnes Wanjiru Wanjiku more than a decade ago.
Justice Alexander Muteti issued the warrant after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) revealed that the suspect, already formally charged with murder, had failed to appear in court. The order now clears the way for extradition proceedings from the United Kingdom, with the ODPP expected to spearhead the process.
The officer, who served under the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), has remained unidentified despite repeated promises by the British government to disclose his identity to Wanjiku’s family. The case will be mentioned again on October 21, 2025, to confirm compliance with the court’s directive.
Wanjiku, then 21, disappeared in 2012 after being last seen with British soldiers at a hotel near the BATUK base in Nanyuki. Two months later, her body was discovered stuffed in a septic tank at the same hotel grounds, bearing multiple stab wounds.
A Kenyan inquest in 2019 concluded that Wanjiku had been killed by one or several soldiers. Two years later, members of the Duke of Lancaster’s regiment identified a colleague as the prime suspect. One soldier is reported to have confessed that the accused led him to the site where Wanjiku’s body was dumped, admitting to the killing.
For years, her family has sought justice, and the latest court order marks the strongest step yet toward holding the suspect accountable.
