Ex UK Soldier Accused of Killing Kenyan Woman Shows Up in Courtroom

A suspect has been presented in court as extradition hearings commenced in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a Kenyan woman who was killed near a British forces camp in the year 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38, who is a native of the Manchester area, was presented at Westminster magistrates court on the last Friday, and told the court he planned to fight the extradition. It is understood that he was taken into custody on Thursday evening.

A detention order for Purkiss was released by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been charged with a one count, of killing, and that the Kenyan government would request his deportation to stand trial.

The defendant previously worked as a medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the infantry regiment for the English northwest, including on tours of Afghanistan.

The victim, 21, a hairdresser who had a infant daughter, vanished after a night out, and her corpse was found 60 days later in the grounds of the lodging where she had previously spotted.

Not a single person had earlier been taken into custody or accused in connection to her demise. His detention was the result of a fresh police investigation, which came after a exposé in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the media outlet approached several serving and ex-military personnel in the unit.

The probe has been led by Kenyan detectives, which, under a mutual defense pact, holds legal authority in the matter.