Former British Soldier Accused of Killing Kenya Female Shows Up in Courtroom

A man has shown up before a judge as deportation processes started in the case of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was found dead near a British army base in the year 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38 years old, who is originally from Greater Manchester, appeared before the magistrates' court in Westminster on Friday, and informed the court he intended to contest the extradition. Sources suggest that he was taken into custody on Thursday night.

An arrest warrant for the suspect was released by a Nairobi court in September. The prosecution informed the Kenyan judiciary that the accused had been charged with a sole charge, of murder, and that the government of Kenya would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

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

Wanjiru, twenty-one, 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 hotel where she had most recently observed.

Not a single person had earlier been detained or accused in relation to her demise. The arrest of Purkiss followed a fresh police investigation, which was initiated after a exposé in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the newspaper contacted several serving and ex-military personnel in the military group.

The investigation has been headed by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, holds legal authority in the legal case.