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

A man has been presented in court as deportation processes began in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan woman who was murdered near a UK military installation in the year 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is originally from Greater Manchester, appeared before Westminster magistrates court on Friday, and stated to the court he would challenge the extradition request. Reports indicate that he was arrested on Thursday night.

A warrant for arrest for Purkiss was released by a court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that the accused had been charged with a single count, of homicide, and that the government of Kenya would pursue his extradition to stand trial.

The defendant served formerly as a medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the army unit for the English northwest, including on missions to Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a young daughter, went missing after a night on the town, and her remains was found two months later in the grounds of the hotel where she had last been seen.

Nobody had previously been arrested or accused in association with her death. Purkiss’s arrest followed a recent detective probe, which followed a article in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the media outlet reached out to several current and former soldiers in the unit.

This inquiry has been led by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, maintains prosecutorial power in the legal case.