Ex UK Soldier Charged of Killing Kenya Female Appears in Courtroom

An individual has been presented in court as deportation processes began in the investigation of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was killed near a British army base in the year 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38, who is a native of Greater Manchester, was presented at Westminster magistrates court on Friday, and stated to the court he planned to fight the extradition request. It is understood that he was arrested on Thursday night.

An arrest warrant for the suspect was issued by a court in Nairobi in the month of September. The prosecution stated before the Kenyan court that the individual had been charged with a single count, of murder, and that the Kenyan government would request his deportation to answer to accusations.

Purkiss previously worked as a medical attendant with the Lancaster Regiment, the military regiment for the English northwest, including on missions to Afghanistan.

The victim, twenty-one, a hairdresser who had a infant daughter, disappeared after a night out, and her corpse was found two months later in the area of the lodging where she had previously spotted.

No one had earlier been arrested or accused in connection to her death. Purkiss’s arrest came after a recent detective probe, which followed a article in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the newspaper contacted several current and former soldiers in the military group.

This inquiry has been led by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, retains jurisdiction in the case.