The heir to Kenya’s most famous white settler family was acquitted on Thursday of murdering a local poacher but found guilty of manslaughter in a case highlighting the East African nation’s delicate colonial legacy.
The High Court said Tom Cholmondeley — descendant of Lord Delamere who came to Kenya from Britain a century ago — did not show ”malice aforethought” in the 2006 shooting of Robert Njoya during a confrontation on the family’s 55 000-acre ranch.
High Court Justice Muga Apondi said sentencing would be given at a later date, meaning Cholmondeley’s dream of walking free on Thursday after three years in jail was dashed.
The judge said he was sympathetic to Cholmondeley’s argument of self-defence in the face-off with Njoya after finding him pursuing wildlife with dogs on the family’s property.
”The survival principle is very basic to human beings,” Apondi said, before announcing the charge was being reduced.
The tall and besuited Chomondeley (40) stood impassive as the judgement was read. His relatives in the courtroom looked confused by the outcome, as did Njoya’s widow.
The trial was the second such case against the Eton-educated aristocrat, also accused of killing a wildlife ranger in 2005.
That case was dropped for lack of evidence, triggering an outcry and suggestions from many Kenyans that their nation still had two sets of laws — one for whites and one for blacks.
Both cases fanned simmering colonial-era resentment against settlers who snatched large swathes of land during British rule.
Local Maasai groups had prepared protests for Thursday in case Cholmondeley was released. – Reuters