More than a decade after Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old mother, was killed in Kenya, allegedly by a British soldier, a Kenyan court has issued an arrest warrant for a UK national. If there is an extradition, it would be the first time a serving or former British soldier is sent abroad to face trial for the murder of a civilian – a move her friends would welcome.

On the night she went missing on 31 March 2012, Agnes begged her childhood friends Friend A and Friend B to come out with her.*

Agnes and Friend A were both new mothers, both 21-years-old, both wanting to let off some steam.

Friend B was eager to go out too, and agreed to meet them at the bar at Lions Court Hotel, located in the business district of Nanyuki, a market town in central Kenya, around 124 miles (200km) north of Nairobi.

That evening, Friend B's mother agreed to watch over Agnes's five-month-old daughter for a small babysitting fee. With childcare settled, Agnes and Friend A set off, making their first stop at a bar called Sherlock's.

There were a lot of muzungu (white) men there, says Friend A. I remember some were in plain clothes and some were in army clothes.

The British Army has a permanent training support base in Nanyuki, and white men, many of them soldiers, were a familiar presence. Locals referred to them as Johnnies, a nickname that carries unsavoury connotations.

They made me uncomfortable because I'd heard bad things about muzungu men, Friend A recalls.

Muzungus don't treat us Kenyan women well, adds Friend B. Johnnies, especially, mistreat us. They disrespect us.

For young women like Agnes, the risks of engaging with these men were often weighed against the struggle to make ends meet.

When women are financially desperate, they will do almost anything to survive, Friend A says. I don't believe Agnes was a sex worker though. I never saw her do that. She was very poor.

Her friends say that on a good day Agnes would earn around 300 Kenyan shillings - less than £1 ($1.35). On a bad day there was nothing at all, and she relied on the goodwill of her loving elder sister.

Agnes did not have any financial support from the father of her child, and her friends say she was constantly trying to earn money, mostly working in salons and braiding people's hair, at times turning to more unconventional means.

At Sherlock's bar that night, Friend A was scrolling through Facebook when she noticed Agnes in what appeared to be a tense exchange with a white man.

When I approached her to ask her if she was OK, she told me to go to Lions Court as planned and that she would join me shortly.

At around midnight, Friend A left for home, leaving Friend B and Agnes with their friends dancing. By early evening, when Agnes had still not returned, Friend B and another friend went to Nanyuki police station to report her missing.

Nearly three months later, Agnes's body was found in a septic tank near the hotel, having been stabbed.

Kenyan judge Njeri Thuku concluded after an inquest in 2019 that Agnes had been murdered by one or two British soldiers. This prompted an internal investigation in August 2025, revealing that some soldiers at the base were still engaging in transactional sex with women, many of whom were vulnerable.

On 16 September, a Kenyan High Court issued an arrest warrant for a British national suspected of murdering Agnes Wanjiru. If extradited, it could be a historic case against military personnel.

It is highly welcome and a positive step towards the arch of justice, says Kelvin Kubai, a lawyer at the African Centre for Corrective and Preventive Action. However, the battle isn't yet won. We hope the relevant government institutions of both states shall continue cooperating to meet the ends of justice.

Agnes's friends and family echo this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of accountability and justice for Agnes and her daughter.

The BBC has asked the Ministry of Defence for comment.

*The BBC has changed the name of all people listed as witnesses by a Kenyan High Court.