Former UK Soldier Accused of Killing Kenya Female Appears in Court

A man has been presented in court as extradition proceedings commenced in the legal matter of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan woman who was murdered near a UK military installation in 2012.

Purkiss, 38 years old, who is originally from the Manchester area, appeared before the magistrates' court in Westminster on the last Friday, and stated to the court he planned to fight the extradition. Sources suggest that he was detained on the evening of Thursday.

A warrant for arrest for the defendant was issued by a Nairobi court in September. Legal prosecutors told the Kenyan court that the individual had been facing a single count, of murder, and that the government of Kenya would pursue his extradition to stand trial.

Purkiss served formerly as a medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the army unit for the English northwest, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hair stylist who had a young daughter, went missing after a night on the town, and her body was located two months later in the grounds of the hotel where she had last been seen.

No one had before been taken into custody or charged in connection to her death. The arrest of Purkiss followed a fresh police investigation, which followed a article in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the media outlet approached several active and retired troops in the unit.

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