Former British Soldier Accused of Murdering Kenyan Female Appears in Courtroom

A man has been presented in court as deportation processes commenced in the legal matter of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan woman who was killed near a British army base in the year 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38, who is originally from Greater Manchester region, appeared before the magistrates' court in Westminster on Friday, and informed the court he intended to contest the deportation. Reports indicate that he was taken into custody on Thursday evening.

An arrest warrant for the defendant was authorized by a court in Nairobi in September. Legal prosecutors stated before the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been charged with a sole charge, of killing, and that the government of Kenya would request his deportation to answer to accusations.

Purkiss was once employed as a medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the army unit for the north-west of England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hair stylist who had a baby daughter, vanished after a night out, and her remains was discovered 60 days later in the area of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

No one had previously been taken into custody or indicted in relation to her demise. Purkiss’s arrest was the result of a recent detective probe, which came after a report in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the publication reached out to several active and retired troops in the military group.

The probe has been headed by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral security treaty, holds legal authority in the legal case.