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23 Nov 2025
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23 Nov 2025
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A former British soldier accused of the 2012 murder of a Kenyan woman who was found in a septic tank has insisted he is innocent and said he does not believe he ever met her.
Robert James Purkiss, 38, appeared in a London court earlier this month to declare he does not consent to his extradition to the African nation, after the Kenyan director of public prosecutions said he was wanted for the alleged “brutal” murder of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru.
In an alleged confession, Purkiss is said to have told a colleague “it was sex that went wrong”, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
The court was also told that in 2018, Purkiss had allegedly responded with a “smiling face emoji” after a colleague posted a picture of himself outside the hotel in the town of Nanyuki with the comment “if you know you know”, while also referencing the septic tank.
But, speaking publicly about the alleged killing for the first time, Purkiss told the Daily Mail: “I did not kill Agnes Wanjiru, I do not believe I ever met her either. Neither would I joke about killing a woman.
“I only heard about the incident weeks later when I was on a military exercise in Canada. Only much later than that was I told a body had been found in a tank.
“I never booked the hotel room, can’t remember ever being in it. I think we were back in camp by midnight.”
He added: “There is no basis in fact to any suggestion I murdered Agnes Wanjiru.
“I am sorry if that is hard for her family to hear, but it was not me.”
David Josse KC, representing Purkiss, told Westminster Magistrates’ Court on November 7 that the former soldier “vehemently denies” murder and has received Ministry of Defence funding to help pay for his defence.
Purkiss was remanded into custody and will appear at the same court on Monday for a further bail application hearing.
An inquest in 2018 concluded Ms Wanjiru was murdered by British soldiers after she was discovered near a British Army base, two months after she disappeared.
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