A former British soldier is facing extradition to Kenya in connection with the alleged murder of a 21-year-old woman there in 2012.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Robert James 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.
Mr 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.
Ms Wanjiru’s body was discovered in a septic tank near a hotel in the town of Nanyuki, about 124 miles (200km) north of Nairobi, three months after she had gone missing on 31 March 2012. She had a five-month-old baby at the time.
Her body was found near a British army training camp. On the night she was killed, she had reportedly been at a bar with friends where British soldiers were also present.
Ms Wanjiru’s niece, Esther Njoki, met the UK’s defence minister last month in order to push for Mr Purkiss’s extradition.
In a statement issued through Leigh Day, the lawyers acting for Ms Wanjiru’s family, on Friday Ms Njoki said: “My family is incredibly relieved to hear that the suspect in my aunt’s case has been arrested.
“We have waited so many years for this moment which marks an important step towards finally obtaining justice for our beloved Agnes.”
Leigh Day partner Tessa Gregory said: “This is a huge moment for our client and her family who have been fighting for over a decade to obtain justice for Agnes.
“We hope the UK and Kenyan authorities will now work together to ensure that the suspect can face trial in Kenya as quickly as possible.”
Ms Wanjiru’s family has long accused the British army of covering up her death and the Kenyan authorities of failing to properly investigate the case at the time.
An inquest into her death was opened in 2018 following pressure from Ms Wanjiru’s family, as well as Kenyan rights groups and feminists.
In 2019, it concluded that Ms Wanjiru had been unlawfully killed by one or two British soldiers and that she had suffered stab wounds to the chest and abdomen.
Later in 2021, a Sunday Times investigation reported that a British soldier had confessed to colleagues that he killed Ms Wanjiru. The soldier left the army after the incident and reportedly continued to live in the UK.
In 2024, the army announced it was launching an internal review into the conduct of British soldiers in Kenya, including in Nanyuki.
It found 35 suspected cases of soldiers having engaged in sexual exploitation and abuse, including transactional sex, with local women – nine of these being after the army officially banned such conduct in 2022.
