Former UK Serviceman Charged of Murdering Kenya Female Appears in Courtroom

An individual has been presented in court as extradition proceedings began in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan woman who was killed near a British forces camp in 2012.

Robert Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is a native of Greater Manchester region, appeared before the Westminster court on Friday, and informed the court he planned to fight the extradition. It is understood that he was taken into custody on the evening of Thursday.

A warrant for arrest for the suspect was released by a Nairobi court in the month of September. The prosecution stated before the Kenyan court that the accused had been facing a single count, of murder, and that the Kenyan government would seek his extradition to face charges.

Purkiss previously worked as a medical attendant with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the infantry regiment for the northwestern England, including on missions to Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a beautician who had a infant daughter, disappeared after a evening out, and her body was discovered two months later in the grounds of the lodging where she had previously spotted.

No one had previously been taken into custody or accused in relation to her demise. His detention followed a recent detective probe, which came after a exposé in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the newspaper contacted several serving and ex-military personnel in the regiment.

The investigation has been led by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, holds legal authority in the matter.