Ex British Serviceman Accused of Murdering Kenya Female Shows Up in Court

An individual has shown up before a judge as extradition hearings began in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan woman who was killed near a British army base in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, 38, who is a native of Greater Manchester, was presented at the Westminster court on the last Friday, and stated to the court he would challenge the extradition. Reports indicate that he was detained on Thursday evening.

An arrest warrant for the suspect was authorized by a court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been accused of a single count, of homicide, and that the Kenyan authorities would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

The defendant served formerly as a army medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the infantry regiment for the English northwest, including on tours of Afghanistan.

The victim, 21 years old, a beautician who had a young daughter, went missing after a night on the town, and her remains was located 60 days later in the premises of the accommodation where she had most recently observed.

No one had before been arrested or charged in relation to her passing. His detention was the result of a new police inquiry, which was initiated after a article in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the newspaper reached out to several serving and ex-military personnel in the unit.

The investigation has been spearheaded by investigators from Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, retains jurisdiction in the legal case.