Ex British Serviceman Charged of Killing Kenya Woman Appears in Court

A man has shown up before a judge as extradition proceedings commenced in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was found dead near a British army base in 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38 years old, who is hailing from the Manchester area, was presented at the Westminster court on the last Friday, and told the court he intended to contest the extradition request. Reports indicate that he was detained on Thursday evening.

An arrest warrant for Purkiss was released by a Nairobi court in the month of September. Legal prosecutors informed the Kenyan judiciary that Purkiss had been charged with a single count, of homicide, and that the Kenyan government would request his deportation to stand trial.

The defendant was once employed as a medical attendant with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a young daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her corpse was discovered 60 days later in the grounds of the lodging where she had previously spotted.

No one had earlier been arrested or charged in connection to her passing. His detention followed a fresh police investigation, which followed a article in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the publication approached several current and former soldiers in the military group.

This inquiry has been led by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral security treaty, holds legal authority in the case.