Former British Soldier Charged of Killing Kenyan Woman Shows Up in Court

A suspect has shown up before a judge as deportation processes commenced in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a Kenyan woman who was killed near a British army base in 2012.

Purkiss, 38 years old, who is a native of the Manchester area, was presented at Westminster magistrates court on the last Friday, and stated to the court he planned to fight the extradition. Reports indicate that he was detained on Thursday evening.

A warrant for arrest for Purkiss was issued by a court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution informed the Kenyan judiciary that Purkiss had been charged with a single count, of murder, and that the government of Kenya would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

He served formerly as a medical attendant with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the army unit for the north-west of England, including on missions to Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a young daughter, disappeared after a night on the town, and her corpse was found two months later in the grounds of the lodging where she had most recently observed.

Not a single person had earlier been detained or charged in connection to her death. Purkiss’s arrest was the result of a recent detective probe, which followed a exposé in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the media outlet reached out to several current and former soldiers in the unit.

This inquiry has been headed by detectives in Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, retains jurisdiction in the legal case.