Former British Soldier Accused of Murdering Kenya Female Appears in Court

An individual has been presented in court as deportation processes began in the legal matter of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a female from Kenya who was killed near a British army base in 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is a native of Greater Manchester, appeared before Westminster magistrates court on Friday, and informed the court he would challenge the extradition. It is understood that he was taken into custody on Thursday night.

An arrest warrant for Purkiss was authorized by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been facing a single count, of murder, and that the government of Kenya would pursue his extradition to face charges.

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

Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a young daughter, went missing after a evening out, and her remains was discovered 60 days later in the grounds of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

No one had before been detained or accused in relation to her passing. His detention was the result of a recent detective probe, which was initiated after a exposé in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the media outlet reached out to several active and retired troops in the regiment.

The probe has been spearheaded by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral security treaty, maintains prosecutorial power in the legal case.