Niece of Kenyan woman ‘murdered by British soldier’ calls on King to act during visit
The niece of a Kenyan woman allegedly murdered by one or more British soldiers has called on the King to act on her case as he visits the African country.
Agnes Wanjiru went missing in her hometown of Nanyuki in 2012 and two months later her body was found in a septic tank of a hotel.
She had stab wounds to her abdomen and a 2019 inquest concluded she was murdered by one or more British soldiers.
Before the King and Queen arrived in Kenya for the start of their five-day state visit to Kenya on Monday, Ms Wanjiru’s 19-year-old niece Esther Njoki wrote the King a letter calling on him to help bring about justice and closure.
Ms Njoki, who lives in an informal settlement in Nanyuki, close to the British Army Training Unit (BATUK) base in the Nyati barracks, also called on the King to visit her family – herself, her mother (who is Ms Wanjiru’s sister Rose), her cousin Stacy, and Ms Wanjiru’s surviving daughter – who was just five months old when her mother was killed.
She wrote in a letter to the monarch: “Your Majesty, we ask that you come to our aid by bringing attention and urgency to the case of Agnes Wanjiru’s murder.
“Please let not Agnes’s daughter Stacey grow up in a world where it seems that justice is elusive not only for the poor but also for people that look like her.”
Far from a symbolic gesture, Ms Njoki’s letter is a significant move that demands actions from the commander-in-chief of the British crown forces.
The British government maintains that the jurisdiction for the investigation lies with the Kenya Police Service. The inquest found that there were signs of a potential cover-up and limited investigations in the immediate aftermath.
But 11 years on, the men accused of her murder are still walking free.
While Buckingham Palace has said that the royal visit will acknowledge “painful aspects of the UK and Kenya’s shared history”, the King and Queen have no scheduled plans to visit Nanyuki during their trip.
Rather than the £70mn BATUK facility in Nanyuki’s Nyati barracks, they will be shown a display of British-Kenyan defence collaboration in beach exercises at the Mtongwe Naval base in Mombasa.
The King and Queen view part of the Royal Collection relating to the Royal family’s connection to Kenya, during a reception at Buckingham Palace. Pic: AP
Other events in Kenya have also enflamed discontent about the country’s post-colonial relationship with Britain.
A 2021 fire on a British army training site in Lolldaiga, Laikipia moved 5,000 complainants to say it impacted their health, livestock and environment.
The British High Commission in Kenya told Sky News that “no property outside of the Lolldaiga Hills Ranch was damaged by the fire and no large animals were killed.”
That has not quelled protests and demands for compensation.
“There is a feeling that colonialism is still alive and well, and therefore the general feeling is that there needs to be a change,” says Kenyan political scientist, Professor Peter Kagwanga.
He adds: “Let us be clear that compensations have been done in a number of cases but there has not been unequivocal apologies or denunciation of what has happened.
“Therefore Kenyans feel that they are second-rate citizens, the so-called children of a lesser God compared to their British counterparts – and as a result, that is adding to the cumulative grievances against BATUK in Nanyuki.”
In the hours before the King and Queen’s arrival, the expression of these grievances is being stifled.
Kenyan authorities are shutting down protests in Nairobi and have blocked a news conference intended to air allegations of human rights and environmental abuses by British troops in the country.
Even as the grieving Esther links justice with the King’s visit, Kenyan authorities are practising public suppression just to ensure it happens without opposition.
The 19-year-old woman who died after she was attacked by a dog at a flat in Bristol on Wednesday has been named as Morgan Dorsett from Shropshire.
Two people – a man and a woman both aged in their 20s – have been arrested over the attack and have been released on conditional bail.
Initial reports suggested the dog may be an XL bully, but confirming the breed will form part of the police assessment process, according to Avon and Somerset Police.
It was sedated and seized by officers.
An XL bully. File pic: PA
Ms Dorsett’s family thanked the public for their support and those who have left flowers near the scene.
Officers were called to an incident in the Hartcliffe area of Bristol at 7.19pm on Wednesday.
Paramedics and police officers attended but Ms Dorsett died at the scene.
Ms Dorsett. Pic: Avon and Somerset Police
On Thursday, Inspector Terry Murphy said: “Our thoughts, first and foremost, are with the family of the young woman who’s tragically died as a result of yesterday evening’s incident. They have been updated and will be supported by a family liaison officer.
“I’d also like to thank the officers and paramedics who attended yesterday evening and tried to save her life. Support is in place for them.
“A full investigation is now well under way to establish the full circumstances of the events that led to her death.”
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Flowers left near the scene. Pic: PA
A neighbour also paid tribute to Ms Dorsett, saying she “seemed a lovely girl” and had only lived in the property for a few weeks.
“I was up all night awake trying to process this,” the neighbour, who did not want to be named, said.
“I am shocked. I just can’t believe it’s happened and she hasn’t been there that long.”
The neighbour said she had seen the dog on a lead with its owner and was certain it was an XL bully.
“I do feel so sad for the dog owner,” she said.
“She did mention the dog wasn’t great with men, fine with women and children.
“I feel for her so, so much. It wasn’t her fault.”
She added: “I genuinely feel that this was one of those freak accidents and wasn’t her fault – that’s how I feel.”
In February 2024 it became a criminal offence to own the XL bully breed in England and Wales without an exemption certificate.
Anyone owning one of the dogs must have had the animal neutered, microchipped, and kept muzzled and on a lead in public, among other restrictions.
The government move to ban the breed followed a series of attacks on people and other dogs.
UK
Bargain Hunt auctioneer Charles Hanson cleared of coercive control and assault allegations related to his wife
Bargain Hunt auctioneer Charles Hanson has been cleared of coercive control and assault allegations relating to his wife.
The 46-year-old was accused of being violent towards Rebecca Hanson over an eight-year period.
The charges were brought after he was arrested in June 2023.
The TV auctioneer, from Mackworth, Derby, denied controlling or coercive behaviour spanning from 2015 to 2023, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and assault by beating. The two assault charges related to incidents in 2015 and 2023.
During the trial, Hanson claimed his wife had controlled him. He told the court he was “almost a slave” to her, saying she left him “a beaten and broken man” by controlling him and making him subservient towards her.
She had claimed her husband was violent towards her and put her in a headlock in 2012, while she pregnant with a baby she later lost.
Mrs Hanson also alleged her husband repeatedly “grabbed” her, scratched her as she tried to snatch a mobile phone and pushed her twice during a row.
Hanson outside the court with his parents today. Pic: PA
The auctioneer told the court his wife was allowed “to do what she wanted” but had experienced “moments and episodes” including one which saw her claim his legs being crossed amounted to abuse.
Jurors deliberated for around four and a half hours before delivering not guilty verdicts on all charges.
As the verdicts were returned, Hanson smiled at his parents, who were sat in the front row of the public gallery at Derby Crown Court, and gave them a thumbs-up.
After thanking the jurors for their care in considering the case, Judge Martin Hurst told Hanson: “You have been found not guilty. That is the end of the case. You will hear no more about it and you are free to go.”
The TV star’s parents wept and hugged their son after he was discharged from the dock.
Hanson ‘relieved this is all over’
Hanson speaks to media after the verdict. Pic: PA
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Hanson said: “I’m delighted that after a year and a half the truth has finally come out.
“I can finally live my life again. I feel this burden has finally been lifted.”
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“It has been a tormentuous time and all I want now is to readjust to what has been such an ordeal,” he continued. “I am so relieved that this is all over.”
As well as regularly featuring on Bargain Hunt, Hanson has appeared on Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip.
A self-described “monster” who beat a top chef to death near Notting Hill Carnival has been jailed for life.
Omar Wilson repeatedly punched and kicked Mussie Imnetu during an altercation outside a restaurant in Queensway, west London, on 26 August last year.
Wilson, 31, then left the scene to go clubbing.
Mr Imnetu, 41, who worked under star chefs Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing, died in hospital four days later, without regaining consciousness.
Mussie Imnetu. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Sentencing Wilson to a minimum 18 years, Judge Philip Katz said Mr Imnetu’s “brutal” killing was “abhorrent”.
“Mussie and those who loved him are the victims in this case and the impact on them of his murder has been severe,” he said.
“Mussie was defenceless on the ground when you punched and kicked him to death.”
He continued: “You could not control your temper. Only a few seconds after punches were aimed by both of you you tripped Mussie and he fell to the ground and you could have walked away.
“As he knelt you rained further punches down on his head. You could have walked away.
“However, you stood up, raised your leg and kicked him hard to the head. Kicking someone to the head when they are defenceless on the ground is abhorrent.”
CCTV footage of Omar Wilson at a security point after the assault. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Mr Imnetu’s wife, Linda, described her husband as “respected, admired and loved” in a pre-recorded victim impact statement played in court.
“Mussie didn’t just leave behind a legacy for his family, he left an indelible mark on his workplace and community,” she said.
“Nothing can undo what has been taken from us. I ask the court to remember the man Mussie was: his character, his integrity and the life he built; not just the circumstances of his passing.”
An audio recording of Mr Imnetu’s six-year-old son wishing his “daddy” goodbye was also played in court, which the judge called “heart-rending”.
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CCTV footage was played in court during the trial showing Wilson approaching Mr Imnetu and headbutting him.
Around a minute later, Wilson punched Mr Imnetu five times in the head, continued to repeatedly punch him while he was on his hands and knees, and then kicked him in the head.
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Wilson of Napier Road, east London, told the Old Bailey he was acting in self defence, telling jurors: “I just regret that somebody’s life was taken while I was trying to defend mine.”
He claimed Mr Imnetu had a broken bottle – something Judge Katz described as “a deliberate lie”.
The court heard after the attack that Wilson had told an associate he “crossed the line”.
In a message, he said: “There’s a monster in me, man, and it’s just like sometimes it comes out.
“And I think I’ve messed up now, I’ve messed up, everything’s finished.”
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