RJ Purkiss: The British soldier behind Agnes Wanjiru's murder unmasked

When Agnes  Wanjiru was killed in 2012, her daughter was barely five months.

The now 13-year-old perhaps knows about her mother, Agnes Wanjiru, from the many stories written about an elusive justice, with a British soldier at the heart of it.

Even with an incessant push for the prosecution of the man who was whisked away after the incident, his image, name, rank, and the reasons behind his being flown out to Britain remain a secret, as does the snail-paced process.

The officer attached to the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk) was a ghost, known only to God, his colleagues, Batuk and perhaps to the Kenyan government and the United Kingdom.

However, yesterday, another chapter opened with a name, Robert James Purkiss, being put forward by Kenya’s security agencies as the man who should answer the many unanswered questions of the night Wanjiru was killed.

A Directorate of Criminal Investigations officer, who was in the probe team and who spoke on condition of anonymity, told this paper that the investigations and numerous interviews both in Kenya and the UK singled out James as the suspect.

“I believe that the name Robert James Purkiss will come up in court. We hope that Wanjiru’s family will finally get justice,” the officer said.

This information was also corroborated by a senior officer at the British High Commission.

In court, Justice Alexander Muteti issued a warrant of arrest against the officer, paving the way for the extradition process from the UK.

Justice Muteti directed that he should surrender.

“The offence of murder in Kenya is an extraditable offence under Section 4 and satisfies the requirement of dual criminality under the Extradition (Commonwealth Countries) Act Cap 77 of the Laws of Kenya. The accused shall therefore be arrested and brought before this court for plea,” said Justice Muteti.

In the case, the DPP said that he was outside Kenya.

James will face murder charges. The particulars of the offence are that he allegedly killed Wanjiru on the night of March 31, 2012, and April 1, 2012, at the Lions Court Lodge in Nanyuki, Laikipia County.

The decision to charge him follows a long and meandering legal battle.

It started with an inquest, there was a hushed story by his colleagues about who he was, then there was a hunt and a court case filed by the family, which is seeking compensation and bringing the officer to book.

At the High Court, Batuk commander Colonel Andrew Wilda, in his reply filed before High Court judge Lawrence Mugambi, argued that Kenyan courts have no powers to entertain any case against the unit.

According to him, Batuk is a part of the larger United Kingdom army and enjoys immunity accorded to the British government.

“The UK government, as a foreign sovereign state, does not consent to submit to the jurisdiction of this court and to be impleaded in the present proceedings,” argued Wilda.

In the same case, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Renson Ingonga, also objected. In his reply, the DPP stated that he had actively given directions on Wanjiru’s investigations and filed an inquest. Ingonga stated that he did not have any information on investigations in the UK.

In the case filed before the High Court in Nairobi, the late Wanjiru’s family said it believed that the Kenyan Government and the British administration had been deliberately concealing the name of the perpetrator.

Wanjiru’s family asked the British government to extradite the officer to Kenya to face murder charges.

The case was filed by Wanjiru’s sister, Rose Wanyua, alongside a human rights group,the  African Centre for Corrective and Preventive Action.

Wanyua’s lawyer, Mbiyu Kamau, argued that it is unfair for the Kenyan and British governments to keep the family in the cold without knowing whether Wanjiru’s killer will finally face the law or whether her daughter will be compensated for the injustice.

“The decision not to prosecute, extradite the suspects and or release information uncovered during the investigation of the deceased’s murder to the first petitioner to pursue other avenues of justice for such a long period of time is a gross violation of the 1st Petitioner’s right to fair administrative action.

Her body was discovered in the Lion Court Hotel’s septic tank. However, investigations took around five years before their findings were sent to the DPP.

The DPP in 2013 recommended that an inquest should be conducted 22 months after he received the file.

On November 5, 2019, the magistrate’s court found that Wanjiru was murdered.

Two years later, a UK-based paper, the Sunday Times, revealed that the UK authorities knew the identity of the killer soldier.

Her family said there was a possible cover-up.

“Despite the findings of the inquest and the Sunday Times newspaper report, the Respondents have failed to notify the late Agnes Wanjiru’s family of the status of their investigations and possible prosecution,” Kamau argued.

The lawyer said the British High Commission and the Minister for Defence in the UK had given their commitment that they would cooperate to ensure justice was served. But according to him, no one has been charged to date in Kenya or in the UK.