British tycoon who died in Mombasa was poisoned, son tells inquest

A British tycoon who mysteriously died in Mombasa was poisoned to stop him from marrying another wife in Kenya, his eldest son told an inquest.

Mr Richard John Veevers said a post-mortem exam done after the exhumation of his remains in 2014 indicated that Mr Harry Roy Veevers died of cyanide poisoning.

“Certainly, he must have died in his Nyali apartment and was secretly ferried to Pandya Memorial Hospital mortuary without the knowledge of the police,” Mr Veevers told the inquest in Shanzu on Wednesday.

Senior Principal Magistrate Jacinta Kwena heard that the younger Veevers was informed of his father’s death in a telephone call from his sister, Ms Alison Thacker, who also resides in the United Kingdom.

“I then had to travel to Kenya only to find his body at the mortuary with a copy of a burial permit obtained by my step-mother, Mrs Azra Parveen Deen, and Dr Salim Omar,” he said.

The inquest also heard that Dr Omar informed Mr Veevers that his father died of an illness while undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit on February 14, 2013.

“But on inquiry over my father’s admission at the hospital’s administration, no record was found to indicate that he was admitted as a patient before he died,” said Mr Veevers.

'POISONING SYMPTOMS'

He said he then decided to report the matter to the Bamburi Police Station to establish the cause of death and he was referred to the Nyali OCS.

“However, a post-mortem was not carried out and he was maliciously buried in a Muslim cemetery despite him being a staunch Christian,” he said.

He further told the court that a conspiracy to kill his father might have been hatched by his step-family, who lived with him in Mombasa, allegedly in collaboration with Dr Omar.

“These also include my two step-sisters, Ms Alexandra Azra Veevers and Helen Azra Veevers,” he told the inquest.

He added: “In fact, there was a time when my father complained that my step-family was slowly poisoning him in Kenya during his visit in United Kingdom in September 2012.”

“He told me his secret since we were in a good relationship and he loved me as his eldest son,” he said.

Mr Veevers said that he advised his father to go to hospital and the two proceeded to Seven Sisters Hospital in Wales, United Kingdom, for testing after he showed some symptoms of poisoning.

“The United Kingdom government is ready to submit any document to help establish the cause of my father’s death, if requested through the police,” he told the inquest.

Further, he told the court that his step-sister, Ms Alexandra, allegedly swore to kill their father if he married another woman.

“This was after I revealed to her after a work party in the United Kingdom that my father had informed me that he was planning to marry another woman in Kenya and have children,” he said.

SAID HE WANTED TO MARRY

He told the court that on September 12, 2012 his father visited him in the UK and informed him that he was in love and wanted to remarry and have children in Kenya.

“This shocked me because after his divorce 25 years ago (from) my mother, Mrs Marvis Florence Veevers, he vowed never to marry again,” said Mr Veevers.

“Later, in December 2012, while at a work party in UK that was also attended by Ms Alexandra, she vowed to kill our father after I informed her of his plans to remarry,” he said.

In November 2014, Mr Veevers said, his step-family assaulted him in his father’s Nyali bungalow when he tried to inquire about some documents and stolen properties.

“That is when I also discovered marijuana had been grown inside the Nyali bungalow and I then took pictures of it and reported to police,” he said.

Police then raided the house and recovered the bhang, which was taken to the government chemist, where it was tested and the results confirmed it was marijuana.

The witness said his father liquidated his assets in the United Kingdom and proceeded to settle in Kenya, where he bought property.

“My step-mother would all along receive my calls whenever I telephoned my father to prevent me from communicating with him,” he said.

MAGISTRATE QUITS

Later in the afternoon, the magistrate disqualified herself from hearing the inquest after one of the lawyers questioned the court’s integrity.

Mr William Mogaka, representing the deceased’s wife, alleged that the court clerk “was directly involved in the case”.

He claimed that he had photographs to prove his claims including interaction and threats against Ms Ezra Parveen Din.

He also claimed that the same clerk was threatening one of his clients who is considered to be suspect in the murder of the deceased.

Ms Kwena directed the inquest file be taken to Mombasa Chief Magistrate Susan Shitubi to allocate another magistrate.