In Summary:
-An arrest warrant has been issued against the 38 year old from Manchester who previously served as a medic for the army. He is set to be extradited to Kenya, and be charged with murder.
Robert James Purkiss is set to be charged with the murder of Agnes Wanjiru that happened on the the night of 31st March, 2012.
Purkiss is a 38 year old from Greater Manchester, and formerly served as a medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s regiment, the infantry regiment for North-West of England.
The family of Agnes expressed optimism that they were finally going to get justice after High Court judge Alexander Muteti issued an arrest warrant, paving way for possible extradition. However, it is not clear when Purkiss will be brought to Kenya.
The matter will go down in history as the first time a British soldier is extradited to another country to face charges of civilian murder. Family spokesperson Esther Muchiri however said that the conclusion of the entire process will determine whether they will taste justice.
“While this is progress, it is not justice yet,” she said.
It has taken 13 years of wait to have a flicker of hope that the perpetrators of Agnes Wanjiru’s murder will finally be brought to book.
The late was last seen alive on 31st March, 2012 entering Lion’s Court Hotel in Nanyuki alongside a British Soldier from Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.
Two months later, her body was found in a septic tank near the room where the soldier spent his night. A postmortem examination revealed she has been stabbed in the chest and abdomen and was also subjected to blunt force trauma.
The Kenyan Police started investigations into the matter but this fizzled out, leaving the family of the late crying for justice.
However, in 2021, a leaked WhatsApp chat by soldiers from Duke of Lancaster Regiment appeared to open a can of worms as they made memes about septic tanks, a matter that renewed further investigations.
British Law firm Leigh Day took up the matter, something that saw the UK Ministry of Defense pledge support for the investigations. Kenyans will now be waiting for the extradition of ‘Soldier X’ after the High Court issued an arrest warrant on 16th September, 2025.