Ex UK Soldier Accused of Murdering Kenya Woman Shows Up in Courtroom

An individual has shown up before a judge as extradition proceedings commenced in the legal matter of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan woman who was killed near a British forces camp in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is a native of Greater Manchester, showed up in Westminster magistrates court on Friday, and informed the court he would challenge the extradition. It is understood that he was taken into custody on Thursday evening.

A detention order for the suspect was authorized by a court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution informed the Kenyan judiciary that the individual had been facing a single count, of murder, and that the Kenyan authorities would request his deportation to face charges.

The defendant was once employed as a medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the infantry regiment for the northwestern England, including on missions to Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21 years old, a beautician who had a baby daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her remains was located after two months in the premises of the lodging where she had most recently observed.

Not a single person had earlier been arrested or indicted in association with her passing. His detention came after a fresh police investigation, which followed a exposé in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the publication contacted several current and former soldiers in the regiment.

The investigation has been spearheaded by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral security treaty, maintains prosecutorial power in the matter.