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.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />"It's giving us hope that justice will be served soon," she added.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />In 2019, a Kenyan magistrate concluded that Wanjiru was murdered and a formal extradition request was filed in September.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The UK has kept a permanent military base near Nanyuki after the country had gained independence in 1963.<br /><br />The UK Ministry of Defence previously acknowledged serious misconduct allegations at the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) and launched a full inquiry.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Follow us on:<br />WhatsApp cutt.ly/WhatsAppCFM<br />https://twitter.com/capitalfmkenya/<br />https://www.facebook.com/capitalfmkenya<br />https://www.instagram.com/capitalfmkenya<br /><br />Subscribe to Capital FM News for More: https://goo.gl/um4AGk<br /><br />98.4 Capital FM<br />93.0 Western Kenya<br />98.5 Nakuru and Nyeri<br />104.5 Malindi<br />102.7 Garissa<br />103.9 Meru<br />106.5 Kitui<br />104.9 Voi<br /><br />#CapitalFmKenya
