Former UK Soldier Charged of Killing Kenya Female Appears in Court

A man has shown up before a judge as deportation processes started in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was killed near a British army base in 2012.

Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is hailing from Greater Manchester region, appeared before the Westminster court on Friday, and told the court he intended to contest the extradition. Sources suggest that he was arrested on Thursday night.

An arrest warrant for the defendant was authorized by a Nairobi court in the month of September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been charged with a sole charge, of homicide, and that the Kenyan government would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

Purkiss was once employed as a medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on missions to Afghanistan.

The victim, 21, a beautician who had a young daughter, went missing after a night on the town, and her body was located after two months in the premises of the accommodation where she had last been seen.

Nobody had earlier been arrested or charged in connection to her death. The arrest of Purkiss came after a recent detective probe, which came after a article in the year 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the newspaper approached several serving and ex-military personnel in the regiment.

The probe has been spearheaded by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, holds legal authority in the matter.