Ex British Soldier Accused of Killing Kenyan Woman Appears in Courtroom

An individual has shown up before a judge as extradition proceedings began in the case of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was found dead near a British forces camp in 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38 years old, who is a native of Greater Manchester, was presented at the magistrates' court in Westminster on Friday, and stated to the court he planned to fight the extradition. Reports indicate that he was arrested on Thursday evening.

A warrant for arrest for Purkiss was released by a Nairobi court in September. Legal prosecutors told the Kenyan court that the individual had been accused of a single count, of homicide, and that the Kenyan government would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

Purkiss served formerly as a medical attendant with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the army unit for the English northwest, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21 years old, a beautician who had a infant daughter, went missing after a night out, and her corpse was found after two months in the area of the hotel where she had last been seen.

Nobody had previously been arrested or indicted in relation to her death. Purkiss’s arrest came after a new police inquiry, which came after a article in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the media outlet approached several serving and ex-military personnel in the military group.

The probe has been headed by detectives in Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, maintains prosecutorial power in the case.