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Four police officers; Naftali Chege, Charles Wangombe Munyiri, Baraka Bulima and John Pamba have been jailed for the death of British aristocrat Alexander Monson, who died in 2012.
The officers were sentenced at Mombasa High Court on Thursday after Judge Eric Ogola found them guilty of manslaughter.
“The drugs were planted on the deceased after his death as a cover-up,” said Ogola, adding that Monson was in perfect health before his arrival at the station and that he was “brutally tortured” while there.
He added that those who brutally tortured Monson were known to the four police officers, but that their identities could not be confirmed by the court because of “the code of silence in the police force”.
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Judge Erick Ogolla attends at Mombasa Law Courts in Mombasa, Kenya, on November 15, 2021. (Photo by DIHOFF MUKOTO/AFP via Getty Images)
“I am satisfied that the death of the deceased was caused through unlawful omission on the part of the accused persons for failing to seek medical care for the deceased in good time,” Ogola said.
Government pathologists concluded that Monson had died after suffering a traumatic blow to the head. Police had initially claimed Monson had died of a drugs overdose.
It was also revealed that the convicts attempted to cover up Monson’s treatment prior to his death and threats against witnesses.
"I am grateful that after this long wait, justice has been done for my late son. This should send a strong message to the Kenyan police force to have respect for human life," Alexander's mother, Hilary Monson, told the court, fighting back tears.
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Hilary Monson (2nd L), the mother of late Alexander Monson, speaks to the media with her husband John Lockhart Mure (L) and ex-husband Lord Nicholas Monson (R) outside the Mombasa Law Court in Mombasa, on November 15, 2021. (Photo by DIHOFF MUKOTO/AFP via Getty Images)
The four police officers received prison sentences of 48 years in total. Chege was sentenced to 15 years in jail, five of which were suspended.
Munyiri was sentenced to 12 years, six of which were suspended. Buluma was given nine years, five of which were suspended, and Pamba was sentenced to 12 years, six of them suspended.
Monson, son of Nicholas the 12th Baron Monson, had been arrested in the early hours of May 19 2012 for smoking marijuana while on a night out in Diani.
He was in 'good health' as police took him away, but officers phoned his father later the same day to tell him that Alexander had died - apparently of a drug overdose.
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Alexander Monson, 28, was found dead after being arrested for alleged cannabis use, but toxicology reports showed he had no drugs in his system. Photograph: Family Album/Reuters
That sparked a 10 year long battle by the Monsons to find out who was responsible for their son's death and bring them to justice.