Ex UK Serviceman Accused of Killing Kenyan Woman Shows Up in Courtroom

A man has appeared in court as extradition hearings commenced in the legal matter of Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was found dead near a British army base in the year 2012.

Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is a native of the Manchester area, showed up in Westminster magistrates court on the last Friday, and stated to the court he intended to contest the extradition. Sources suggest that he was detained on the evening of Thursday.

A warrant for arrest for Purkiss was released by a Nairobi court in the month of September. The state attorneys informed the Kenyan judiciary that Purkiss had been charged with a single count, of murder, and that the Kenyan government would seek his extradition to stand trial.

He previously worked as a medical attendant with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the army unit for the English northwest, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, twenty-one, a beautician who had a young daughter, went missing after a evening out, and her remains was found after two months in the area of the lodging where she had last been seen.

Not a single person had earlier been detained or accused in connection to her death. His detention followed a recent detective probe, which followed a exposé in the year 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the publication contacted several current and former soldiers in the military group.

This inquiry has been spearheaded by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral security treaty, maintains prosecutorial power in the matter.