Ex British Serviceman Accused of Murdering Kenyan Female Appears in Courtroom

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

Purkiss, 38, who is hailing from the Manchester area, showed up in Westminster magistrates court on the last Friday, and stated to the court he planned to fight the extradition. Sources suggest that he was taken into custody on Thursday evening.

A warrant for arrest for the defendant was issued by a Nairobi court in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been accused of a single count, of killing, and that the government of Kenya would request his deportation to answer to accusations.

He served formerly as a army medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the infantry regiment for the English northwest, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

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

No one had previously been taken into custody or accused in association with her death. His detention was the result of a new police inquiry, which came after a exposé in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the media outlet approached several active and retired troops in the unit.

The investigation has been spearheaded by investigators from Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, maintains prosecutorial power in the legal case.