British authorities arrest suspect in 2012 murder of Agnes Wanjiru

A former British soldier who is facing extradition to Kenya in connection with the alleged murder of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru has been arrested by British authorities.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Robert Purkiss was arrested in Tidworth, Wiltshire, on 6 November and appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

He was arrested by specialist officers from the NCA’s National Extradition Unit in connection with the killing of Agnes Wanjiru after a warrant was issued in September, the agency added.

Purkiss, 38, told the court he intended to contest the extradition and was remanded into custody ahead of his next appearance at the same court on 14 November.

His lawyers told the court that he “vehemently denies” murder.

New facts unearthed by The Standard reveal that Robert James Purkiss, the soldier suspected of killing a Kenyan woman, hails from the North West of England and was a medic. He had been with the Duke of Lancaster Regiment with tours in Afghanistan.

Purkiss completed several tours of duty in Afghanistan, an active combat zone. His main duty was to offer battlefield medical aid.

The woman he murdered, 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru, was a single mother working as a hairdresser.

Purkiss was enlisted in the British Army in 2006. He served for ten years until 2016 when he left the army under a scandalous cloud of murder.

Purkiss had been based in British Army bases starting with the Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire. He was then moved to Tidworth Barracks in Wiltshire, and finally, before coming to Kenya, he was based in Weeton Barracks in Blackpool.

In 2012, Purkiss was sent to Nanyuki with BATUK for warm-weather military exercises. It was during this posting that Wanjiru was killed and her body dumped in a septic tank.

Purkiss, a father of two, now lives near Salisbury. After being discharged from the army, he now works as a home computer support technician.

According to The Sunday Times article, rumours of the murder circulated widely among soldiers, with some mocking it as a “running joke” at Weeton Barracks. One officer apparently joked to Purkiss not to “strangle anyone” before a night out.

Another soldier dubbed “Soldier Y” by The Sunday Times witnessed Purkiss admitting to the murder. He was even shown where Wanjiru’s body was dumped in a septic tank.

Soldier Y suffered psychological trauma and blew the whistle on the murder. He was then shunned by fellow soldiers and labeled a snitch, leading to more psychological issues.

He was reportedly discharged from the army, and later imprisoned for unrelated offences. This highlights systemic failings in the military response to the case.

The Sunday Times also published screenshots from a private Facebook group used by members of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment who were based in Kenya in 2013.

The Facebook posts revealed soldiers sharing pictures, laughing and ghost emojis, and snide comments about the killing. Two photos of the Lions Court Hotel, the hotel where Wanjiru had been killed, were posted and captioned “if you know you know,” followed by laughing emojis.

Another soldier typed simply “septic tank” with ghost emojis. Wanjiru was found stuffed in a septic tank. Purkiss himself posted the emoji of an angel, while others then replied with a cartoon of a baby crying at a funeral. Wanjiru left behind a five-month-old baby.

Another soldier then asks Purkiss if he gets “all choked up thinking about that place” — in reference to the allegations of how he killed Wanjiru.

Purkiss, the main suspect in the gruesome murder, wrote: “Come to think of it, I have had a sore throat today,” other soldiers responded with laughing emojis.

When Wanjiru’s body was found, BATUK attempted a cover-up and only provided insufficient information to Kenyan authorities. They didn’t even share the names of the key witness, Soldier Y, and Purkiss.

Purkiss, according to The Sunday Times, reportedly confessed to fellow servicemen about the murder and showed them the place he had hidden the body. The soldiers passed this information to their commanders, who did nothing.

Wanjiru was last seen walking out of a bar accompanied by two British soldiers when she disappeared. Her body was later found in a septic tank behind a building where the soldiers had stayed, mutilated and stabbed.

A 2019 inquest led by Judge Njeri Thuku concluded Agnes was murdered by one or more British soldiers stationed at BATUK. She ordered further criminal inquiries, which were never acted upon by the military.

The current formal BATUK was established in 2008 as a permanent training unit for the British Army in Kenya. It is based in Nyati Barracks near Nanyuki, with rear bases in Nairobi (Kifaru Barracks within Kahawa Barracks).

The UK–Kenya Defence Cooperation Agreement was last renewed in 2021, allowing up to six infantry battalions per year to train.

Despite numerous cases of criminal conduct among soldiers based in Kenya, the British government has for years resisted extradition or involvement by Kenyan police, citing defence cooperation agreements. A revision of these agreements in 2023 allowed Kenya to push for trials and extradition.

Wanjiru’s case is historic after Justice Alexander Muteti issued a warrant of arrest against Purkiss, paving the way for the process of extradition from the UK.

According to British-trained advocate Peter Wena, the extradition process is always lengthy, tedious, complicated and almost impossible unless there is goodwill from the two governments (see explainer).

This would be the first time a serving or former British soldier is extradited abroad to face trial for a civilian killing, setting a precedent that might affect future military cooperation and operational immunity, making governments cautious.

Another notable high-profile case is when the UK government extradited businessman Yagnesh Mohanlal Devani back to Kenya to face charges over the Triton scandal. He had lived in the UK for 15 years.