Former UK Serviceman Charged of Murdering Kenya Female Appears in Court

A suspect has been presented in court as extradition hearings started in the case of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was murdered near a British forces camp in 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38 years old, who is originally from Greater Manchester, showed up in the Westminster court on Friday, and stated to the court he planned to fight the extradition. Sources suggest that he was arrested on Thursday night.

A warrant for arrest for Purkiss was issued by a Nairobi court in September. The state attorneys stated before the Kenyan court that the individual had been facing a single count, of killing, and that the government of Kenya would seek his extradition to answer to accusations.

The defendant was once employed as a medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the infantry regiment for the English northwest, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21 years old, a beautician who had a infant daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her body was discovered 60 days later in the area of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

No one had previously been detained or indicted in relation to her death. The arrest of Purkiss came after a recent detective probe, which came after a exposé in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the newspaper reached out to several active and retired troops in the unit.

The investigation has been headed by Kenyan detectives, which, under a mutual defense pact, maintains prosecutorial power in the matter.