EP46: The Murder of Agnes Wanjiru

In 2012, a 21 year old Kenyan woman named Agnes Wanjiru went out for a night in a small town shaped by the presence of a foreign military base - and never came home.

In this episode, we trace Agnes’s last known hours, the uneasy power dynamics of the British troops stationed in Kenya, and the long trail of missed chances that followed. Sometimes the most terrifying mystery isn’t who did it, it’s how so many people knew about it, and did nothing to stop it. 

RESOURCES:

• itv.com/news/2025-11-07/british-soldier-appears-in-court-over-murder-of-agnes-wanjiru-in-kenya
• itv.com/news/2025-10-15/niece-of-murdered-kenyan-woman-calls-for-british-soldiers-extradition
• theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/07/former-british-soldier-robert-purkiss-accused-of-murdering-kenyan-woman-agnes-wanjiru-appears-in-court
• theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/21/british-soldier-accused-of-murdering-kenyan-woman-agnes-wanjiru-named
• theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/22/british-ex-soldier-denies-meeting-kenyan-woman-agnes-wanjiru-alleged-murder
• theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/16/agnes-wanjiru-niece-urges-labour-extradite-ex-soldier-kenya
• theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/24/uk-defence-minister-faces-call-for-inquiry-into-2012-killing-of-kenyan-woman
• reuters.com/world/africa/former-british-soldier-arrested-over-alleged-kenyan-murder-2025-11-07
• reuters.com/world/uk/kenyan-lawmakers-identify-disturbing-trend-misconduct-by-british-troops-2025-12-03
• apnews.com/article/2bfc454e5c3c1eaa8bb227c5e6445cbe
• apnews.com/article/0389c1ecb7f2a593796869e77180e79e
• apnews.com/article/23ef6d907b869bdcd2e0ffa40cb35bda
• gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-meets-family-of-the-late-agnes-wanjiru-in-kenya
• gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-meets-with-the-niece-of-the-late-agnes-wanjiru
• questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-04-30/49427
• news.sky.com/story/niece-of-kenyan-woman-murdered-by-british-soldier-calls-on-king-to-act-during-visit-12996890
• news.sky.com/story/agnes-wanjiru-niece-of-kenyan-woman-murdered-by-british-soldier-comes-to-uk-to-seek-justice-13449012
• the-independent.com/news/uk/home-news/agnes-wanjiru-death-british-army-b1944227.html
• forcesnews.com/services/army/charting-timeline-agnes-wanjirus-death-former-soldier-faces-extradition-kenya
• aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/20/kenya-court-orders-uk-soldiers-arrest-for-agnes-wanjiru-death-all-we-know
• aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/5/british-soldiers-accused-of-more-abuses-in-kenya-what-we-know
• thetimes.co.uk/article/soldier-accused-murder-agnes-wanjiru-w6c62w8st
• thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/robert-james-purkiss-agnes-wanjiru-jnx7bgvm9
• thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/british-army-soldier-murder-mother-kenya-9hffnjqqv
• www.sbs.com.au/news/article/family-of-kenyan-woman-allegedly-murdered-by-british-soldier-to-sue-uk-army/9fuxv02y0
  
  

Listener Supported