Former British Serviceman Charged of Killing Kenya Female Shows Up in Court

A man has appeared in court as extradition hearings started in the legal matter of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a female from Kenya who was killed near a British forces camp in 2012.

Purkiss, 38 years old, who is originally from Greater Manchester region, appeared before the Westminster court on Friday, and informed the court he planned to fight the extradition. It is understood that he was detained on the evening of Thursday.

An arrest warrant for the defendant was released by a Nairobi court in September. Legal prosecutors told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been charged with a one count, of killing, and that the government of Kenya would seek his extradition to stand trial.

He was once employed as a army medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the military regiment for the northwestern England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21, a hairdresser who had a young daughter, went missing after a night on the town, and her remains was discovered 60 days later in the grounds of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

Nobody had earlier been detained or indicted in relation to her demise. His detention was the result of a fresh police investigation, which was initiated after a exposé in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the newspaper approached several current and former soldiers in the unit.

The probe has been spearheaded by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral security treaty, holds legal authority in the legal case.