A London court has refused bail to a former British soldier wanted in Kenya for the 2012 murder of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru, whose body was found in a septic tank in Nanyuki.
Robert James Purkiss, 38, will remain in custody pending extradition proceedings after appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday. District Judge Paul Goldspring ordered him held until the next hearing in December.
Court hears murder allegations
Purkiss is accused of killing Wanjiru, a hairdresser and mother of a five-month-old daughter, on the night of 31 March 2012. Her decomposing body was discovered two months later in a septic tank behind Lions Court Hotel, close to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) base in Nanyuki.
Prosecuting lawyer Joel Smith told the court that fellow soldiers alleged Purkiss confessed shortly after the incident. One soldier claimed Purkiss showed him the septic tank containing the body, while another was reportedly told the killing happened after “sex that went wrong”.
A 2019 Kenyan inquest ruled that Wanjiru had been beaten, stabbed and unlawfully killed by one or two British soldiers.
Defence insists on innocence
Defence lawyer David Josse said Purkiss “vigorously denies” any involvement and argued there was no flight risk. The judge, however, cited the seriousness of the charge and remanded Purkiss in custody. As he was led away, the former soldier nodded to his wife and brother in the public gallery.
Case revives Kenya-UK tensions
The murder has long strained relations between Nairobi and London. Wanjiru family and human rights groups accuse both governments of protecting British troops under a defence agreement that complicates prosecution of soldiers training in Kenya.
In September, Britain’s Ministry of Defence reiterated its commitment to helping the family obtain justice. A separate internal review recently uncovered 35 alleged cases of sexual exploitation by UK soldiers in Kenya, nine of them after a 2022 ban on such behaviour.
Family welcomes arrest
Wanjiru’s niece, Esther Njoki, who has campaigned for justice, met UK Defence Secretary John Healey last month. Following Purkiss’s arrest on 6 November by the National Crime Agency, she said: “We have waited so many years for this moment. It is an important step towards justice for our beloved Agnes.”
Purkiss, speaking to British media from prison, maintained his innocence, saying he never met Wanjiru and only learned of her death weeks later while on exercise in Canada.
Parallel proceedings in Nairobi
In Nairobi, High Court Judge Alexander Muteti on Monday scheduled 16 December as the next mention date after prosecutors confirmed Purkiss was in custody in London.
The case gained fresh momentum after a 2021 investigation by The Sunday Times revealed soldiers had discussed an alleged confession among themselves.
Purkiss is due back in the UK court on 9 December for case management. If extradited, he faces murder charges in Kenya, which carry a mandatory life sentence.
