Kenya has made major changes to its defence agreement with the UK over allegations a British soldier brutally killed a local sex worker.
Murder will now be a triable offence for UK troops after Kenyan MPs voted in favour of amending its Kenya-UK Defence Cooperation Agreement.
It means soldiers deployed to the former British colony can now be prosecuted for killing, along with other serious crimes, on Kenyan soil.
The move follows a lack of progress in the investigation into the murder of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru.
The mother-of-one’s body was found dumped in a septic tank two months after she was last seen alive in a Nanyuki hotel in the company of a British soldier.
The town is close to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) camp.
A post-mortem examination found she died as a result of stab wounds to her chest and abdomen.
There was also evidence she had been beaten, although owing to the condition of her body it was unclear whether she had been sexually assaulted.
Details of the horrific 2012 murder only came to light in 2021, following a report by The Times of London.
Allegations of Killings
Announcing the proposed defence agreement change on Wednesday, Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations Committee Chair Hon. Nelson Koech said: “This recommendation will ensure that visiting troops undertake their training, within Kenyan Law.“We don’t want a repeat of [the] Ms. Agnes Wanjiru incident.”
Koech told the National Assembly that the agreement would also enhance intelligence sharing to tackle security challenges.
“The UK has an advanced defence capability due to the size and nature of its economy, and geo-political position, including its large coastline hence there are a lot of military lessons that Kenya can learn from the UK,” he said.
Consideration of the cooperation agreement was due to be undertaken by Kenya’s last Parliament.
However, it was stalled after the County Government of Laikipia—where BATUK is based—submitted a memorandum raising concerns over the behaviour of British troops.
It included allegations of killings, injuries, and “other forms of suffering arising from the activities related to BATUK.”
The amendment was voted through on Wednesday afternoon by National Assembly MPs.
The amended deal will now go to the Kenyan Ministry of Defence for further negotiation with their British counterparts.
‘No Cover Up’
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is currently assisting Kenyan authorities in the investigation into Wanjiru’s death.It was previously reported that Kenyan police had requested that British Royal Military Police question nine soldiers in relation to the killing in June 2012.
Detectives are said to have asked the Royal Military Police (RMP) to put 13 questions to the soldiers, including whether any of them had sex with Wanjiru on the night she disappeared.
A photo of the victim was included in the request, as well as a request for DNA samples to be taken from the nine men.
In 2021, the MoD said it received no such request for assistance in summer 2012, but is now “in discussion with the Kenyan authorities to determine what support is needed.”
It said RMP Special Investigation Branch officers had been in Kenya for unrelated reasons around the time of the young woman’s murder, and had assisted in compiling the list of the nine soldiers.
In a statement released in 2021, the British Army’s Gen. Sir Mark Carleton-Smith said he was “appalled” at the murder allegations.
“I want you to know I am determined we support the appropriate authorities to establish the facts of the issue as quickly as possible,” he said.
Then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said there was “no cover up” over failure to hold Wanjiru’s killer or killers to account.
Speaking to the House Magazine, the Cabinet minister said: “It’s a deeply concerning murder and story and there is no one in the MoD standing in the way of [an investigation].
“There’s no cover up, there’s no blockade.”
Wanjiru’s family are currently suing the MoD over its handling of the case.
