Ex British Serviceman Accused of Killing Kenya Woman Appears in Court

A man has been presented in court as deportation processes commenced in the investigation of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was murdered near a UK military installation in the year 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38, who is hailing from Greater Manchester region, was presented at the Westminster court on Friday, and told the court he intended to contest the extradition. Reports indicate that he was taken into custody on the evening of Thursday.

A detention order for the defendant was issued by a Nairobi court in September. The state attorneys informed the Kenyan judiciary that the individual had been facing a one count, of killing, and that the Kenyan authorities would seek his extradition to stand trial.

The defendant served formerly as a medical attendant with the Lancaster Regiment, the infantry regiment for the north-west of England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a infant daughter, went missing after a night on the town, and her remains was discovered after two months in the area of the accommodation where she had last been seen.

No one had before been taken into custody or indicted in connection to her death. The arrest of Purkiss was the result of a recent detective probe, which was initiated after a report in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the publication reached out to several active and retired troops in the regiment.

This inquiry has been led by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral security treaty, holds legal authority in the case.