Wayne Lumbasi
A former British Army medic has been formally named and charged in connection with the killing of Kenyan woman Agnes Wanjiru more than a decade ago, a case that has long strained relations between Nairobi and London.
Kenyan authorities have identified the suspect as Robert James Purkiss, 38, a former member of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. Wanjiru, a 21-year-old mother of one, disappeared in March 2012 after a night out with British soldiers at a hotel near the Nanyuki military base in central Kenya. Her body was discovered two months later in a septic tank at the same hotel, prompting widespread public outrage.
A 2019 Kenyan inquest ruled that Wanjiru had been “unlawfully killed by British soldiers,” yet no one was brought to justice for years. That changed last week when the High Court in Nanyuki issued a warrant of arrest for Purkiss and formally sought his extradition from the United Kingdom.
The British government has said it is “absolutely committed” to cooperating with Kenyan investigators. The suspect, who has since left the army, has not yet been taken into custody in Britain. A mention of the case is scheduled for October 21, 2025 at the Nanyuki court.
The Wanjiru case has become a flashpoint for debate about accountability for crimes allegedly committed by foreign troops stationed in Kenya. Human rights groups and Wanjiru’s family have repeatedly called for justice, saying the delay in prosecuting the case has deepened their pain.
If Purkiss is extradited, it would mark the first time a British soldier faces trial in Kenya for a serious crime committed during a training deployment.
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