Greater Manchester soldier Robert James Purkiss is accused of the murder of Agnes Wanjiru
The body of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru was found close to a British Army base in the town of Nanyuki(Image: Handout)
The niece of a woman whose was killed and dumped in a septic tank said she wants to speak for all women ‘wronged by British soldiers’ during her visit to fight for justice in the UK.
The body of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru was found close to a British Army base in the town of Nanyuki, two months after she disappeared, in March 2012. Her alleged murderer was named in September this year as Robert James Purkiss, from Greater Manchester.
A warrant was issued for Purkiss’s arrest the same month, with the Sunday Times reporting previously that the court heard Kenyan authorities would seek his extradition.
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Ms Wanjiru’s niece, Esther Njoki, is currently visiting the UK and will be meeting Defence Secretary John Healey on Tuesday to discuss the investigation.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, the 21-year-old said she will be urging Mr Healey to extradite Purkiss ‘as quickly as possible’ and seek reassurance that the handling of allegations against those serving in the British armed forces in Kenya will change.
Ms Njoki said of her trip: “I am coming to the UK to speak for the women in Kenya who cannot speak for themselves. I want to speak for all those women who have been wronged by British soldiers.”
“I feel sorry for the women, especially those who say they have been sexually abused. I feel sorry for their suffering, but many of their cases are not as controversial as ours, so they are not as high profile.
“Some of the women are very vulnerable, and they are poor. I am coming to England this week to be heard, and to have their voices heard.
“I need to speak for them, so that when they see me quoted in the newspaper and see me on the television, they know that I am doing it for them, as well as for Agnes. I want to give those women a voice, too.”
She added: “Everything is cheap in Nanyuki for the soldiers, compared with the UK. They think they can get away with more in Kenya, and do things that they wouldn’t do in the UK. They take advantage, because they think they are superior.”
Ms Njok said she is still hearing stories about soldiers leaving their army bases and ‘causing harm to the local women’.
She said: “I believe the British soldiers should not be allowed to leave their barracks whilst they are training in Kenya. That is what I want to tell Mr Healey when I see him on Tuesday.”
Ms Njoki also plans to ask Mr Healey whether anyone within the army, the Royal Military Police or the Ministry of Defence will be held accountable for the 13-year delay investigating the murder, according to the newspaper.
After meeting members of Ms Wanjiru’s family in April, Mr Healey emphasised his ‘determination to see a resolution’ to the case and the UK’s ‘full support’ for the investigation.
An inquest found Ms Wanjiru was unlawfully killed and a post-mortem examination concluded she had died as a result of stab wounds to her chest and abdomen. There was also evidence that she had been beaten but because of the condition of her body, it was unclear whether she had been sexually assaulted.
Court documents from the African nation, first reported by the Sunday Times, show Purkiss is accused of a single count of murdering Agnes Wanjiru on the night of March 31, 2012.
The newspaper said the suspect, of Greater Manchester, previously served as a medic with the Duke of Lancaster Regiment – including on tours of Afghanistan. A British soldier has already confessed to the sex worker’s murder, according to previous reports.