Kenyan family calls for extradition of former British soldier over alleged murder

UK Defence Secretary John Healey says the Government will support Kenya’s investigation. Photo / Henry Nicholls, AFP

The niece of a young Kenyan woman allegedly murdered by a British soldier more than a decade ago urged the British Government today to extradite the suspect as soon as possible.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21, died in 2012 after she reportedly went partying with British soldiers at a hotel in Nanyuki, a town in central Kenya where Britain has a permanent army garrison.

Last month, a Nairobi High Court judge issued an arrest warrant for a British citizen in connection with the death of Wanjiru, whose body was found in a septic tank.

Court documents named the suspect as Robert James Purkiss, 38.

Following the judge’s ruling, prosecutors in Kenya said extradition proceedings would now be initiated to bring the suspect before a Kenyan court.

“I would like it to happen now, immediately,” Wanjiru’s niece Esther Njoki told AFP in the United Kingdom Parliament, where she addressed a meeting about her family’s fight for justice.

“I want him to be extradited because he mocked Agnes and mocked Agnes’ daughter,” Njoki added, referring to Wanjiru’s child, who is now 13 years old.

Njoki, 21, spoke after meeting Defence Secretary John Healey, who has been in his position since Labour ousted the Conservatives from 14 consecutive years of power in July 2024.

“Our Government will continue to do everything we can to support the Kenyan investigation, secure a resolution to this case and finally bring peace to Esther and her grieving family,” Healey said in a statement.

Ben Keith, a barrister specialising in international cases, told the parliamentary meeting that extradition in such a case could take up to five years following any arrest made in the UK.

‘Should be closed’

Purkiss is accused of murdering Wanjiru on the night of March 31, 2012.

An autopsy concluded she died as a result of stab wounds to her chest and abdomen.

In October 2021, the Sunday Times newspaper in Britain reported that a soldier had confessed to his comrades to killing Wanjiru and showed them her body.

The report alleged the murder was taken to military superiors, but there was no further action.

The Sunday Times has reported that Purkiss is from Greater Manchester in northern England and previously served as a medic with an infantry regiment, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Since Kenya gained independence in 1963, Britain has kept a permanent army base near Nanyuki, around 200km north of the capital Nairobi.

The British Army Training Unit in Kenya is an economic lifeline for many in Nanyuki, but has faced criticism over allegations of misconduct by its soldiers, as well as the maiming of civilians by unexploded ordnance.

“It should be closed to protect people’s lives,” Njoki said.

-Agence France-Presse