Ex UK Serviceman Accused of Killing Kenyan Woman Appears in Courtroom

A man has been presented in court as extradition hearings commenced in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a woman of Kenyan origin who was found dead near a British army base in the year 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38 years old, who is originally from the Manchester area, showed up in the Westminster court on the last Friday, and stated to the court he would challenge the deportation. Sources suggest that he was arrested on Thursday night.

An arrest warrant for the suspect was issued by a court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that the accused had been facing a one count, of killing, and that the government of Kenya would request his deportation to face charges.

He previously worked as a medical attendant with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

The victim, 21 years old, a hair stylist who had a young daughter, went missing after a night out, and her body was located 60 days later in the area of the hotel where she had last been seen.

No one had before been taken into custody or accused in relation to her demise. Purkiss’s arrest came after a fresh police investigation, which came after a report in the year 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the newspaper contacted several current and former soldiers in the military group.

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