Former British Soldier Charged of Killing Kenya Female Appears in Court

A suspect has shown up before a judge as extradition proceedings started in the case of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan woman who was killed near a British army base in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, 38 years old, who is originally from Greater Manchester, showed up in 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 defendant was released by a court in Nairobi in September. Legal prosecutors told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been charged with a one count, of homicide, and that the government of Kenya would pursue his extradition to stand trial.

He previously worked as a medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the military regiment for the English northwest, including on missions to Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21, a hairdresser who had a infant daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her remains was discovered 60 days later in the area of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

No one had previously been taken into custody or accused in relation to her death. His detention was the result of a new police inquiry, which followed a exposé in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the media outlet approached several serving and ex-military personnel in the unit.

The investigation has been led by detectives in Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, retains jurisdiction in the matter.