Former UK Serviceman Charged of Murdering Kenyan Female Shows Up in Courtroom

A suspect has appeared in court as deportation processes started in the legal matter of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a woman of Kenyan origin who was found dead near a UK military installation in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, 38, who is a native of Greater Manchester region, showed up in Westminster magistrates court on the last Friday, and informed the court he planned to fight the deportation. It is understood that he was detained on Thursday evening.

An arrest warrant for the suspect was issued by a Nairobi court in September. The prosecution stated before the Kenyan court that the accused had been charged with a single count, of murder, and that the Kenyan government would pursue his extradition to face charges.

The defendant was once employed as a medical attendant with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a beautician who had a young daughter, vanished after a evening out, and her remains was located two months later in the premises of the accommodation where she had most recently observed.

Not a single person had previously been arrested or indicted in relation to her demise. His detention came after a recent detective probe, which was initiated after a exposé in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the publication approached several active and retired troops in the military group.

The probe has been led by detectives in Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, retains jurisdiction in the matter.