A court was told on Tuesday that a murder charge against one of Kenya’s most prominent white farmers should be dropped on the recommendation of its attorney general.
The Hon Thomas Cholmondeley (37) whose father, Lord Delamere, is one of Kenya’s biggest landowners, had been accused of shooting and killing Samson ole Sisina, a plainclothes game warden, on the Delamere family’s ranch, Soysambu.
The warden was on the 100 000 acre farm, along with two colleagues, for an undercover investigation into the trade in ”bushmeat” from illegally slaughtered buffalo or impala.
On Tuesday, the high court in Nakuru was told there was ”insufficient evidence to support and sustain a murder trial”; instead, if the court agrees, an inquest will be held.
In a sign of the seriousness with which the Kenyan authorities view the case, the attorney general’s recommendation was read to the court by the director of public prosecutions, Philip Murgor.
He drew its attention to”an exchange of gunfire” between Cholmondeley and the warden. Legal sources said the fact that both opened fire suggested weapons had been drawn, creating grounds for a plea of self-defence.
The defence was expected to argue that Cholmondeley believed an armed robbery was in progress. Police say that Sisina (45) fired one shot, while the farmer fired his Luger pistol five times.
Defence counsel Fred Ojiambo told the court: ”We were at all times of the view that there was insufficient evidence to support the charge of murder, and we feel immensely gratified that the state law office has decided not to please mass hysteria, but to act in accordance with the law.”
Cholmondeley did not walk free. Instead, judge Muga Apondi ordered the Delamere heir to be remanded in custody until the court rules today on whether to scrap the trial. Technically, the attorney general’s recommendation is an application to the court, and the judge could decide instead to proceed with the case, if he believes dropping it is against the public interest.
Cholmondeley betrayed little emotion as the application was read out, but his wife, Sally, leaned forward and looked wide-eyed with relief. Outside court, Lord Delamere, 75, said: ”I’m very relieved that justice has been done. I very much regret the death of a promising young game warden.
”We felt my son had done nothing but defend my people, which the attorney general obviously agrees with.”
None of Sisina’s family was in court. His widow, Lucy, and eight children live in a bungalow owned by the Kenya wildlife service, which declined to let journalists speak to them.
A spokesperson, Connie Maina, said the application to drop the charge was a disappointment.
”The rangers do such a tough job. I’m sure it will be demoralising for most of them. The staff say it’s quite depressing news.” Maina said the investigation on the Delamere farm would continue. After arresting Cholmondeley for murder, police arrested 16 workers for possession of game trophies, including a giraffe skin worth up to R1 500.
Sisina was a Masai, and dropping the charge may cause widespread anger. The Masai nurse grievances against white farmers for settling on land they once roamed with their cattle.
Outside court, Kitaei Ole Nkoiboni, a Masai councillor in the town of Narok, said: ”We are very angry and bitter that once again we are not seeing justice done. One of our sons has died in the dedication of his duty; yet what we see today is that you can kill and get away with it.”
The Delameres have lived in the Rift valley for more than a century, and enjoy close links with Kenya’s ruling elite. The fourth Baron Delamere, father of the current baron, was part of the hedonistic ”Happy Valley” set dramatised by the film White Mischief, set in 1941. – Guardian Unlimited Â