Former UK Soldier Accused of Killing Kenyan Woman Shows Up in Court

A suspect has shown up before a judge as deportation processes commenced in the legal matter of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a female from Kenya who was found dead near a UK military installation in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, 38, who is hailing from Greater Manchester, was presented at the magistrates' court in Westminster on Friday, and stated to the court he intended to contest the extradition request. Sources suggest that he was arrested on the evening of Thursday.

A detention order for the defendant was released by a Nairobi court in September. The prosecution stated before the Kenyan court that the accused had been facing a one count, of homicide, and that the Kenyan authorities would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

Purkiss previously worked as a medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the infantry regiment for the English northwest, including on missions to Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hair stylist who had a baby daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her corpse was found after two months in the grounds of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

No one had previously been arrested or charged in relation to her demise. Purkiss’s arrest was the result of a fresh police investigation, which was initiated after a exposé in the year 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the media outlet reached out to several serving and ex-military personnel in the regiment.

The investigation has been spearheaded by detectives in Kenya, which, under a bilateral security treaty, retains jurisdiction in the case.