Former UK Serviceman Charged of Killing Kenya Female Appears in Courtroom

A man has appeared in court as extradition proceedings began in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan woman who was killed near a UK military installation in 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is a native of Greater Manchester, was presented at Westminster magistrates court on the last Friday, and told the court he would challenge the extradition request. Sources suggest that he was arrested on the evening of Thursday.

A warrant for arrest for the suspect was issued by a court in Nairobi in September. The state attorneys stated before the Kenyan court that the accused had been facing a sole charge, of homicide, and that the government of Kenya would request his deportation to stand trial.

Purkiss previously worked as a army medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

The victim, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a baby daughter, disappeared after a night out, and her remains was discovered 60 days later in the area of the accommodation where she had most recently observed.

Nobody had previously been taken into custody or accused in relation to her passing. His detention was the result of a fresh police investigation, which came after a article in the year 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the media outlet reached out to several serving and ex-military personnel in the military group.

This inquiry has been headed by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral security treaty, maintains prosecutorial power in the case.