Agnes Wanjiru’s family angered by delay to accused ex-soldier’s extradition hearing
A London hearing in the case of Robert James Purkiss has been moved from November 2026 to May 2027, according to Wanjiru’s family. He denies the murder allegation.
Agnes Wanjiru’s family says a London extradition hearing for Robert James Purkiss, a former British soldier accused of murdering her in Kenya, has been postponed from November 2026 to May 2027. The delay pushes back a step toward a possible trial in Kenya, BBC News reported on 28 October. Purkiss denies the allegation and is contesting extradition.
The family says it had raised money and arranged travel to attend the hearing in Britain. AFP reported that the hearing had been set for 16 November and was moved to 24 May 2027, dates it attributed to the family. An extradition hearing would address whether Purkiss can be sent to Kenya; it would not decide the murder charge.
How the postponement affects Wanjiru’s family
Wanjiru’s niece Esther Njoki told the BBC the family learned of the change through the UK embassy and had received no official explanation. In a statement, she said: ‘Agnes deserves justice. Her daughter Stacy deserves answers about what happened. And as a family, we deserve to be treated with dignity and kept informed about proceedings that profoundly affect our lives.’ The family expects a UK court to give reasons for the delay next week, the BBC reported.
Wanjiru’s sister Esther Muchiri gave AFP a further account of how the family found out: they were trying to update a document at the British Embassy in Kenya. Muchiri said the postponement was ‘yet another shock’. She stressed that the delayed hearing concerns extradition, rather than a trial, and said the family feared the case could take many more years.
The case behind the extradition request
Wanjiru was 21 when she disappeared in March 2012 after an evening at a hotel in Nanyuki, where British soldiers were stationed for training. Her body was found nearly three months later in a septic tank at the hotel. She had suffered stab wounds to her chest and abdomen and left behind a five-month-old daughter, according to the BBC.
A Kenyan inquest concluded in 2019 that Wanjiru had been unlawfully killed by one or two British soldiers. In September 2025, a Kenyan High Court issued an arrest warrant for a British national after prosecutors presented evidence they said justified murder charges. The BBC reported that Purkiss was arrested in the UK in November 2025 and appeared by video link at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in February, when he was further remanded in custody.
Purkiss’s lawyers have said he intends to contest extradition. The UK government has previously said it remains committed to helping Wanjiru’s family, while declining to comment on ongoing legal proceedings, the BBC reported. The reason for the postponed hearing has not yet been given to the family, which says it expects an explanation from the court next week.
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Sources and context
- Agnes Wanjiru's death: Kenyan family angered by extradition hearing delay for ex-British soldier accused of murderBBC News
- Murdered Kenyan's family angry over UK extradition delayAgence France-Presse, republished by Mwanzo TV
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.