Ex British Serviceman Charged of Killing Kenyan Woman Appears in Court

A suspect has appeared in court as extradition hearings began in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was killed near a British forces camp in the year 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is hailing from the Manchester area, was presented at the Westminster court on Friday, and stated to the court he would challenge the deportation. Reports indicate that he was arrested on Thursday evening.

A warrant for arrest for Purkiss was released by a court in Nairobi in September. The state attorneys told the Kenyan court that the individual had been accused of a single count, of homicide, and that the Kenyan authorities would seek his extradition to face charges.

He previously worked as a medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the army unit for the north-west of England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

The victim, 21, a beautician who had a baby daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her body was found two months later in the premises of the lodging where she had previously spotted.

Not a single person had before been arrested or accused in connection to her demise. The arrest of Purkiss followed a new police inquiry, which came after a article in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the publication reached out to several current and former soldiers in the unit.

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