Former British Soldier Charged of Murdering Kenyan Woman Shows Up in Court

A man has shown up before a judge as extradition proceedings commenced in the legal matter of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was killed near a British forces camp in the year 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38, who is a native of the Manchester area, appeared before the Westminster court on Friday, and informed the court he intended to contest the deportation. Reports indicate that he was detained on the evening of Thursday.

An arrest warrant for the defendant was released by a Nairobi court in the month of September. Legal prosecutors stated before the Kenyan court that the accused had been facing a one count, of killing, and that the Kenyan authorities would request his deportation to stand trial.

The defendant previously worked as a army medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on missions to Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21 years old, a beautician who had a young daughter, went missing after a night out, and her corpse was located after two months in the premises of the hotel where she had last been seen.

Nobody had earlier been detained or accused in relation to her passing. Purkiss’s arrest came after a fresh police investigation, which followed a exposé in the year 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the publication contacted several serving and ex-military personnel in the unit.

The probe has been spearheaded by investigators from Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, holds legal authority in the matter.