LONDON (Reuters) -A former British soldier wanted by Kenyan authorities has appeared in a London court after being arrested in connection with the alleged murder of a woman near a UK army training camp in the East African country more than a dozen years ago.
In September Kenya issued an arrest warrant and requested the extradition of a British citizen over the murder of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru near a UK army training camp in 2012, a case which has strained relations between the two countries.
Wanjiru was found in a septic tank at the Lion’s Court Hotel in the Kenyan town of Nanyuki in 2012, having last been seen at the hotel with a group of British soldiers.
A Kenyan magistrate concluded in an inquest in 2019 that she had been murdered by the soldiers, and in September Kenya made a formal request to extradite a suspect.
Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said the suspect was a former soldier who was arrested on Thursday by specialist officers after the warrant was issued.
“Robert James Purkiss, 38, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today for extradition proceedings to begin,” the NCA said.
“He was remanded into custody until his next appearance at the same court on November 14.”
The delay in securing justice has sparked outrage in Kenya, with Wanjiru’s family and rights groups arguing that the killers were being shielded by a defence cooperation agreement that complicates prosecution of British soldiers training in Kenya.
Wanjiru, the single mother of a then four-month-old baby, was beaten and stabbed, and was probably still alive when she was thrown into the septic tank, a magistrate said in the 2019 inquest report.
Asked for comment on the case on Friday, a British government spokesman told Reuters: “It would be inappropriate to comment while there are ongoing legal proceedings.”
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said in September it remained committed to helping Wanjiru’s family secure justice.
(Reporting by Alistair SmoutEditing by Gareth Jones)
