Former British Soldier Accused of Murdering Kenya Woman Appears in Court

An individual has shown up before a judge as extradition proceedings commenced in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was killed near a British army base in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is originally from the Manchester area, appeared before Westminster magistrates court on Friday, and stated to the court he intended to contest the deportation. It is understood that he was arrested on the evening of Thursday.

A detention order for the defendant was issued by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in the month of September. The state attorneys informed the Kenyan judiciary that Purkiss had been accused of a single count, of murder, and that the Kenyan authorities would request his deportation to face charges.

Purkiss was once employed as a medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the army unit for the northwestern England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21, a hairdresser who had a baby daughter, vanished after a evening out, and her body was discovered 60 days later in the area of the lodging where she had previously spotted.

No one had before been detained or charged in relation to her death. The arrest of Purkiss followed a fresh police investigation, which was initiated after a exposé in the year 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the media outlet approached several active and retired troops in the military group.

This inquiry has been led by Kenyan detectives, which, under a mutual defense pact, maintains prosecutorial power in the case.