UK Minister defends Army chiefs over cover-up in Nanyuki sex worker murder

• Nov 4, 2021

UK Minister for the Armed Forces, James Heapy (pictured above), has defended British Army chiefs accused of covering up the murder of Kenyan mother Agnes Wanjiru.

Speaking at the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) in Nanyuki, Laikipia County after a meeting with community elders, Heapy argued that the UK army did not have anything to hide in the matter.

He further noted that the UK was determined to cooperate with Kenyan authorities to ensure that the case is solved amicably.

"The UK has nothing to hide here. We want these investigations to be dealt with as quickly as possible. We want those responsible to be brought to justice because Agnes and her family have had to wait too long for this case to be resolved.

We want that to be investigated and brought to courts here in Kenya as quickly as possible and other allegations that are brought to light will be dealt with with such urgency on our part," he stated.

This comes even as reports claimed that some of the soldiers who knew about the murder raised the matter with their seniors but it was quickly swept under the rug.

Heapy also noted that UK was aimed at ensuring stability in Africa and elevating its relationship with Kenya.

"Where we are right now, this relationship needs to be working hard to deliver stability in East Africa and I think that everybody involved needs to make sure that that is the bar," he added.

The case was reopened after four soldiers told Sunday Times in UK that their colleague suspected of murdering Wanjiru had told them of the stabbing the woman and shown them the body.

The soldier whose identity remains anonymous, detailed that in 2012, he and his colleagues had gone to a bar in Nanyuki where they were training.

While at the bar, their colleague told them that he had killed the woman and proceeded to take them to a septic tank where her body had been found.

The whistleblowers further noted that their attempts to raise the matter to their superiors had been futile since the authorities had kept the matter under the radar reportedly to maintain UK's relationship with Kenya for the Nanyuki training ground.

Wanjiru's decomposing body was then found in a septic tank two months after she had been murdered.

Heapy, who arrived in the country on Wednesday, November 3, is expected to meet the family of the slain 21-year-old mother.