Ex British Soldier Charged of Killing Kenya Woman Appears in Courtroom

A man has been presented in court as deportation processes commenced in the case of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was murdered near a British forces camp in the year 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38 years old, who is hailing from Greater Manchester, appeared before Westminster magistrates court on Friday, and stated to the court he intended to contest the extradition. It is understood that he was arrested on Thursday night.

A warrant for arrest for the defendant was issued by a court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that the individual had been accused of a sole charge, of killing, and that the government of Kenya would request his deportation to face charges.

Purkiss previously worked as a army medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21, a hairdresser who had a baby daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her corpse was located two months later in the grounds of the lodging where she had last been seen.

No one had earlier been taken into custody or indicted in association with her passing. Purkiss’s arrest followed a fresh police investigation, which followed a exposé in the year 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the newspaper contacted several current and former soldiers in the military group.

The investigation has been headed by detectives in Kenya, which, under a bilateral security treaty, holds legal authority in the case.