Ex British Soldier Accused of Killing Kenya Female Appears in Courtroom

A man has been presented in court as extradition proceedings began in the investigation of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was killed near a British army base in the year 2012.

Purkiss, 38 years old, who is a native of Greater Manchester, was presented at Westminster magistrates court on Friday, and informed the court he intended to contest the extradition request. Sources suggest that he was arrested on Thursday evening.

A warrant for arrest for the defendant was issued by a Nairobi court in the month of September. The state attorneys stated before the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been facing a sole charge, of killing, and that the government of Kenya would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

He previously worked as a medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the army unit for the northwestern England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a beautician who had a infant daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her remains was found after two months in the premises of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

No one had before been detained or indicted in association with her death. Purkiss’s arrest followed a fresh police investigation, which followed a exposé in the year 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the newspaper reached out to several current and former soldiers in the military group.

The investigation has been headed by investigators from Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, retains jurisdiction in the case.