Former British Soldier Accused of Killing Kenyan Woman Appears in Courtroom

A suspect has shown up before a judge as extradition proceedings commenced in the legal matter of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a Kenyan woman who was found dead near a British army base in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, 38 years old, who is a native of Greater Manchester, was presented at the magistrates' court in Westminster on Friday, and informed the court he planned to fight the deportation. Sources suggest that he was arrested on Thursday night.

An arrest warrant for the defendant was released by a Nairobi court in September. Legal prosecutors stated before the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been facing a one count, of murder, and that the Kenyan authorities would request his deportation to stand trial.

He previously worked as a army medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hair stylist who had a infant daughter, went missing after a night on the town, and her corpse was located two months later in the grounds of the hotel where she had last been seen.

Nobody had previously been arrested or charged in association with her death. The arrest of Purkiss was the result of a fresh police investigation, which followed a report in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the newspaper reached out to several active and retired troops in the military group.

The investigation has been led by detectives in Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, holds legal authority in the legal case.