Former British Serviceman Accused of Murdering Kenya Woman Shows Up in Court

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

The accused Robert Purkiss, 38, who is hailing from Greater Manchester, showed up in the Westminster court on the last Friday, and told the court he intended to contest the extradition request. It is understood that he was arrested on Thursday night.

A detention order for the defendant was issued by a court in Nairobi in the month of September. The state attorneys stated before the Kenyan court that the individual had been accused of a sole charge, of homicide, and that the government of Kenya would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

Purkiss previously worked as a medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the infantry regiment for the north-west of England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21, a hairdresser who had a young daughter, disappeared after a night out, and her remains was discovered 60 days later in the premises of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

No one had previously been arrested or indicted in relation to her passing. Purkiss’s arrest came after a fresh police investigation, which came after a exposé in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the media outlet contacted several active and retired troops in the regiment.

This inquiry has been headed by investigators from Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, holds legal authority in the case.