Former UK Soldier Accused of Murdering Kenya Woman Shows Up in Court

A man has appeared in court as deportation processes started in the case of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan woman who was murdered near a UK military installation in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, 38, who is hailing from the Manchester area, appeared before the Westminster court on Friday, and informed the court he intended to contest the extradition. Sources suggest that he was detained on the evening of Thursday.

An arrest warrant for the suspect was released by a court in Nairobi in September. Legal prosecutors informed the Kenyan judiciary that Purkiss had been charged with a sole charge, of homicide, and that the government of Kenya would seek his extradition to answer to accusations.

He previously worked as a medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the infantry regiment for the northwestern England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, twenty-one, a hairdresser who had a infant daughter, disappeared after a evening out, and her remains was found two months later in the area of the lodging where she had most recently observed.

Not a single person had earlier been arrested or accused in relation to her demise. The arrest of Purkiss followed a recent detective probe, which came after a article in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the publication approached several active and retired troops in the military group.

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