Family of 'murdered' Kenyan woman optimistic as British ex-soldier faces extradition

Capital FM Kenya

The niece of Agnes Wanjiru - a Kenyan woman found dead more than 13 years ago - expressed cautious optimism following the arrest of the main suspect in the UK - a former British soldier.  "We have been waiting for this for a long time, for more than 13 years. At Least now we can appreciate the government is taking Agnes' case seriously, because it was a case of massive cover-up," Esther Njoki, Agnes Wanjiru's niece, who is also representing the family, said.  "It's giving us hope that justice will be served soon," she added.  In 2012, the body of Agnes Wanjiru was found in a septic tank at a hotel in Nanyuko, where she had last been seen with a group of British soldiers.  In 2019, a Kenyan magistrate concluded that Wanjiru was murdered and a formal extradition request was filed in September.  The suspect was named as 37-year-old Robert James Purkiss, a former British soldier and was arrested on Thursday facing possible extradition to Kenya. He appeared in court on Friday and said he will not accept extradition.  The case and its delayed procedure have sparked widespread outrage in the East African country, with the victim's family and human rights groups alleging a 'cover-up' to shield British soldiers who trained in Kenya from prosecution.  The UK has kept a permanent military base near Nanyuki after the country had gained independence in 1963.  The UK Ministry of Defence previously acknowledged serious misconduct allegations at the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) and launched a full inquiry.  An internal review launched last year, found 35 suspected cases of sexual exploitation and abuse by soldiers, including transactional sex with local women - and which was banned by the army in 2022.  Follow us on: WhatsApp cutt.ly/WhatsAppCFM https://twitter.com/capitalfmkenya/ https://www.facebook.com/capitalfmkenya https://www.instagram.com/capitalfmkenya  Subscribe to Capital FM News for More: https://goo.gl/um4AGk  98.4 Capital FM 93.0 Western Kenya 98.5 Nakuru and Nyeri 104.5 Malindi 102.7 Garissa 103.9 Meru 106.5 Kitui 104.9 Voi  #CapitalFmKenya

Transcript

00:00I don't know what I'm saying, but I don't know what I'm saying.

00:23I don't know what I'm saying.

00:25with the new development we're very happy because we've been waiting this for long for

00:3613 years for more than 13 years and at least now we can appreciate the government is taking

00:42Agnes case serious cause it's a case that's what it was a case of massive cover-up but

00:49see now the main suspect has been arrested it's giving us hope that justice will be served soon

00:55my aunt was an extrovert she was joyful I mean I miss her smile and also Agnes I mean she was

01:09social because everyone especially her friends used to hang around her so our house was full

01:16was full packed of her friends only so it can show you the kind of person she was like everyone

01:23wanted to hang around her as a family well the reason why we need justice it's because what

01:40happened to Agnes it was inhumane and also she left a child so we need to be accountable for the child

01:47because she needs answers of why her mom was killed again seeing that it's the culture of the British

01:53soldiers doing what they want and getting away with it that's why we want justice and also to bring

01:58change through the case of the case of Agnes Sanjero

02:08I saw like this the main suspect was saying that it was sex that went wrong yet he has children and I wonder

02:18wonder why do they stereotype women by sex they can also empower those women

02:24it's not a must they take advantage of them because they are poor so that's not

02:28a good defense we are waiting to see how the case will proceed into hoping that

02:31the way it has begun well that it will still continue the same and it will not

02:36take more time as it is being predicted

02:48i'm hoping to bring change yes my family needs justice and composition but i want to bring

03:01change cause not only us who are suffering there's so many other cases which have not

03:05been given closure so i want through agnes case to bring a change so that even other

03:12family and other victims can also get help and their case can be taken serious

03:32they i mean the british government should stop protecting these their soldiers because what

03:39they do here it's something that they can do in their own country so they should protect

03:45everyone wherever they are in their foreign bases and so we are calling them to make sure

03:50that the boys are doing the right thing and by by saying so is making sure when someone commits

03:57a crime they get punished immediately no one is above the law yes

04:01they are paying for it it's not bad they can't keep up with it that they don't kill them

04:04they have to suffer from them that they are paying for it.

04:06I'm going to look at that.

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