Ex UK Soldier Charged of Killing Kenyan Female Appears in Courtroom

A suspect has been presented in court as extradition proceedings began in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was murdered near a British forces camp in the year 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, 38, who is originally from the Manchester area, appeared before the magistrates' court in Westminster on Friday, and told the court he planned to fight the extradition request. Reports indicate that he was detained on the evening of Thursday.

A warrant for arrest for the defendant was issued by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in September. Legal prosecutors informed the Kenyan judiciary that the accused had been charged with a one count, of murder, and that the Kenyan authorities would seek his extradition to answer to accusations.

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

Wanjiru, 21, a beautician who had a baby daughter, disappeared after a evening out, and her body was discovered two months later in the area of the hotel where she had most recently observed.

No one had before been detained or accused in association with her passing. His detention was the result of a recent detective probe, which followed a article in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the media outlet approached several serving and ex-military personnel in the military group.

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