Ex UK Serviceman Charged of Killing Kenya Female Shows Up in Courtroom

A man has appeared in court as deportation processes commenced in the legal matter of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan woman who was found dead near a British army base in 2012.

Robert Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is a native of Greater Manchester region, appeared before Westminster magistrates court on the last Friday, and informed the court he intended to contest the deportation. It is understood that he was taken into custody on Thursday evening.

An arrest warrant for the defendant was released by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution informed the Kenyan judiciary that the accused had been facing a one count, of murder, and that the Kenyan authorities would seek his extradition to face charges.

Purkiss previously worked as a medical attendant with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the army unit for the northwestern England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

The victim, 21, a beautician who had a baby daughter, disappeared after a night on the town, and her remains was discovered after two months in the area of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

No one had earlier been detained or accused in connection to her passing. His detention followed a new police inquiry, which came after a article in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the media outlet approached several current and former soldiers in the unit.

This inquiry has been spearheaded by investigators from Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, maintains prosecutorial power in the matter.