Ex British Soldier Accused of Murdering Kenya Female Appears in Court

A man has been presented in court as extradition proceedings commenced in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a Kenyan woman who was killed near a British army base in 2012.

Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is originally from Greater Manchester region, appeared before the Westminster court on Friday, and stated to the court he intended to contest the extradition. Sources suggest that he was arrested on the evening of Thursday.

A warrant for arrest for the defendant was issued by a Nairobi court in the month of September. The prosecution informed the Kenyan judiciary that the individual had been facing a one count, of homicide, and that the Kenyan authorities would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

He was once employed as a army medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the military regiment for the English northwest, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a young daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her body was discovered two months later in the grounds of the lodging where she had previously spotted.

No one had before been taken into custody or charged in relation to her death. The arrest of Purkiss followed a new police inquiry, which followed a report in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the publication contacted several serving and ex-military personnel in the military group.

The probe has been headed by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral security treaty, retains jurisdiction in the matter.