British soldiers are said to have laughed and joked on Facebook (FB) about the murder of a 21-year-old Kenyan woman whose body was found in the septic tank of a hotel in Kenya’s Nanyuki in March 2012. One of the soldiers had allegedly been named by his fellow troops. The family has accused authorities of a cover-up.

Kenyan woman murdered

Agnes Wanjiru, who left behind a five-month-old child, went missing in March 2012. Her body was discovered in the septic tank of Lions Court Hotel two months later. The woman was a sex worker whose naked body was discovered by maintenance staff. The British Army Training Unit Kenya camp is located close to the hotel.

A soldier, identified as Soldier X, allegedly confessed to having murdered the woman after several fellow soldiers named him. Soldier X has, however, said that there is no real truth in the allegations.

As per reports, even though one of the British soldiers is said to have reported the incident to his seniors, however, no action was taken by them. The Labour Party has called upon the government to probe any possible cover-up in the incident.

British soldiers mock her death on social media

Daily Mail UK report says:

Now the newspaper has reported that a group of nine British soldiers joked about the death on social media several years after she was last seen entering a hotel room with Soldier X. A member of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the same regiment Soldier X reportedly served in, posted two photos of the Lions Court Hotel on Facebook. The pictured included the caption ‘If you know, you know’ with a crying with laughter emoji. A number of soldiers responded to the post with one posting a ghost emoji while another posted the words ‘sceptic tank’. A third wrote: ‘Rum gaff’ – meaning ‘dodgy place’. 

Soldier X posted an emoji of an angel. Other soldiers then responded with crying-laughing emojis, followed by a cartoon of a baby crying at a funeral from TV show Family Guy. He said: ‘Come to think of it I have had a sore throat today.’

Allegations of cover-up

The woman’s family has claimed that the matter is being hushed up to maintain diplomatic ties.

Britain sends six infantry battalions annually for eight-week exercises to the nearby Nanyuki army base. The British troops had already left by the time Wanjiru’s body was discovered two months after she went missing.

“An inquest was held in Kenya in 2019 in which a judge ruled the mother was ‘murdered by British soldiers’ but no subsequent action was taken by the army”, says Daily Mail. It also quotes an MoD spokesperson as saying “In 2012, Special Investigation Branch carried out initial inquiries in Kenya, including providing information about British personnel to the Kenyan Police. No further requests were received at that time”.

Kenyan authorities are reportedly looking into the incident since the Kenyan police have the jurisdiction for the investigation. The spokesperson further said “Due to this being subject to an ongoing investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further. The Defence Secretary is impatient with the pace of this and has directed full cooperation. He is working with the Military and Kenyan Police to ensure their investigation is not impeded”.