A former British soldier, Robert James Purkiss, 38, has appeared in a UK court to fight extradition to Kenya, more than a decade after he was accused of killing a young Kenyan woman. The case, tied to the 2012 death of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru, has long been a sore point between Nairobi and London.
Agnes, a young mother, was last seen on the night of March 31, 2012, leaving a hotel in Nanyuki with a British soldier. Two months later, her body was discovered in a septic tank behind the same hotel, close to the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK), which has a permanent base there.
Kenyan prosecutors secured an arrest warrant for Purkiss last September after a High Court judge cleared the way for extradition proceedings. At Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, Purkiss refused to consent to being sent to Kenya. Judge Briony Clarke denied him bail, setting a new hearing for November 14.
According to Joel Smith, representing Britain’s Home Office, Wanjiru had been missing since April 2, 2012, and her body, found on June 5, was “significantly decomposed.” Post-mortem reports revealed she suffered a stab wound to the abdomen and a collapsed lung. Smith said some of Purkiss’s army colleagues told military police in Kenya that he had admitted to the killing and even joked about it on Facebook.
Purkiss’s lawyer, David Josse, insisted that his client “vehemently denies” the murder. He also noted that the UK Ministry of Defence has provided financial support for Purkiss’s defense.
The case had previously stalled under Britain’s former Conservative government, drawing criticism from Kenya. The current Labour government, in power since July last year, has promised full cooperation with Kenyan authorities to ensure justice for Agnes.
Since Kenya’s independence in 1963, Britain has maintained a military presence in Nanyuki, about 200 kilometers north of Nairobi. BATUK has faced repeated allegations of misconduct, including injuries to civilians from unexploded ordnance.
The renewed legal proceedings against Purkiss are being closely watched in both countries as a measure of how far the UK is willing to go in addressing allegations involving its soldiers abroad.
