Ex-British soldier accused of Kenya septic tank murder denied bail

A former British soldier accused of the 2012 murder of a Kenyan woman found dead in a septic tank has been denied bail.

Robert James Purkiss, 38, 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 apparent confession, Purkiss is said to have told a colleague “it was sex that went wrong”, a court heard previously.

Purkiss, who is originally from Lancashire, sat in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court wearing a grey hoodie with his beard tied in a plait.

He looked towards his family and nodded when he was told he would continue to be held in custody.

David Josse KC, representing him, said it was “fanciful” to suggest the former soldier would run away and not turn up for future court hearings.

Purkiss offered to pay the court a £15,000 security fee, but Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring rejected his request for bail.

“I agree with the Kenyan authorities that there is a significant risk that if I release you, you could cause harm to another either physically or mentally,” the judge said.

In 2018, Purkiss 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 he is innocent and does not believe he ever met her.

He told the paper last week: “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.”

A previous hearing was told a colleague of Purkiss saw him crying outside the Lions Court Hotel at the time of the alleged murder, and when asked why he was crying, said: “I’ve killed her.”

Mr Josse told the same court on November 7 that the former soldier “vehemently denies” murder and has received Ministry of Defence funding to help pay for his defence.

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.

Purkiss will next appear at the same court on December 9 for a case management hearing.