A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a British national on suspicion of the murder of the Kenyan woman Agnes Wanjiru, who was found dead in the grounds of a hotel near an army base in 2012.
The high court judge Alexander Muteti issued the arrest warrant earlier on Tuesday in Kenya, with the prosecution telling the court a suspect had been charged with murder, is seeking the application for a warrant of arrest to facilitate his extradition to Kenya.
UK-based witnesses will be called on to testify in a future trial, the prosecution said. “The witnesses are in United Kingdom but we will avail them,” the court heard.
The office of the director of public prosecutions informed the court that the accused had been charged with the offence of murder.
Wanjiru, 21, was last seen in the company of British soldiers on a night out in the Lion’s Court hotel in her home town of Nanyuki on 31 March 2012.
She disappeared that night, with friends and family searching for her, until her body was found months later stuffed inside a septic tank at the hotel.
Wanjiru, who worked as a hairdresser, and sometimes sold sex for extra money, had a daughter, Stacey, who was just five months old at the time that she disappeared.
It is understood that Kenyan authorities will begin extradition proceedings, with the intention that the soldier will face charges in Kenya.
“We have lived with the pain of Agnes’s death for over a decade,” her family said in a statement. “The reports that an arrest warrant has been issued against a UK citizen is a significant moment for us and is incredibly welcome.”
Tessa Gregory, the family’s lawyer and a partner at Leigh Day, added: “The family now calls upon the British government to do everything in its power to ensure that the accused can be extradited and face trial in Kenya as soon as possible.”
If he is extradited, it is believed it will be the first time a current or former British soldier has ever been extradited to another country to face trial for the murder of a civilian.
Thus far, Wanjiru’s death has been the focus of two inquests and several criminal inquiries.
The bar of the Lion’s Court hotel was a popular destination for British soldiers, who were based at the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) in Nanyuki, which is about 125 miles north of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
The inquest heard that Wanjiru had last been seen leaving the bar with one or more British soldiers.
A suspect was named by several soldiers who at the time were attached to the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, after an investigation into the murder by the Sunday Times in 2021.
Since the newspaper identified a suspected killer, it is understood that Kenyan detectives have flown to the UK several times to question soldiers and ex-soldiers who were in Nanyuki at the time of the murder.
Earlier this year, the defence secretary, John Healey, met Wanjiru’s family in Kenya and promised the UK’s “full support” for the investigation.
“It was deeply humbling to meet the family of Agnes Wanjiru today,” Healey said in April. “In the 13 years since her death, they have shown such strength in their long fight for justice. I reiterated my determination to see a resolution to the still-unresolved case.”
Previously, as shadow defence secretary, Healey had called on the then Conservative government to do more to resolve the case.
“Agnes’s death has had a profound and devastating impact on our family,” her relatives previously said in a statement.
“It was not only the shock of losing Agnes at such a young age, but also the horrific circumstances in which her body was found and all the trauma and struggle our family has been put through in trying to seek justice and accountability for her death.”
“Our thoughts remain with the family of Agnes Wanjiru and we remain absolutely committed to helping them secure justice,” a spokesperson for the UK government said.
“We understand that the Kenyan director of public prosecutions has determined that a British national should face trial in relation to the murder of Ms Wanjiru in 2012.
“This is subject to ongoing legal proceedings and we will not comment further at this stage.”
No timeline has been set for any extradition hearing or future trial. The case is next listed for mention in court in Kenya on 21 October.
