Former British soldier Robert James Purkiss has been arrested in the United Kingdom in connection with the 2012 murder of Kenyan woman Agnes Wanjiru.
In a statement released by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) on Saturday, November 8, the DPP confirmed Purkiss is scheduled to appear before a London court on November 14, 2025, for a bail hearing related to the extradition request by the DPP, with a case management session set for December 9, 2025.
The arrest follows extensive and coordinated efforts between Kenyan and British authorities and comes six weeks after the DPP initiated formal extradition proceedings in the long-standing case.
On September 16, 2025, the DPP successfully obtained an arrest warrant from a court in Nairobi. Subsequently, on October 9, 2025, the ODPP confirmed that all requisite extradition documentation had been formally transmitted to the Office of the Attorney General in Kenya for onward submission to UK authorities.
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Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old mother and freelance hairdresser, disappeared on March 31, 2012, after being last seen at the Lions Court Lodge in Nanyuki. Her body was tragically discovered in a septic tank at the same lodge on June 5, 2012, prompting widespread outrage and demands for justice.
The young mother, who worked as a hairdresser and occasionally engaged in sex work to supplement her income, had left behind her five-month-old daughter, Stacey, when she vanished that fateful night.
Reports at the time indicated that Wanjiru had accompanied members of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment to the Lions Court Hotel in Nanyuki.
Purkiss enlisted in the British Army in 2006, serving as a medic with the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment. Over the course of his decade-long military career, he was stationed at several UK bases, including Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, Tidworth Barracks in Wiltshire, and Weeton Barracks in Blackpool.
He undertook multiple tours in Afghanistan before being deployed to Kenya with the British Army Training Unit (BATUK) in 2012 for warm-weather exercises. It was during this Kenya posting that Wanjiru died.
In September, following the issuance of the arrest warrant, a UK government spokesperson conveyed condolences to Wanjiru's family and affirmed Britain's commitment to supporting the pursuit of justice.
"Our thoughts remain with the family of Agnes Wanjiru, and we remain absolutely committed to helping them secure justice. We understand that the Kenyan Director of Public Prosecutions has determined that a British National should face trial in relation to the murder of Ms Wanjiru in 2012," the spokesperson stated at the time.
