Court says police officers to be tried over Alexander Monson murder

Three police officers and their retired colleague, who have been charged with the murder of British Aristocrat Alexander Monson, have a case to answer, a court has ruled.

Justice Eric Ogola, of the Mombasa High Court, said Monday that he was satisfied that the prosecution had made a case against Mr John Pamba, Mr Naftali Chege, Mr Charles Wang’ombe Munyiri (Rtd) and Mr Ishmael Baraka Bulima.

The judge said the prosecution had laid out a prima facie case to have the accused placed in the dock to explain their case.

“The accused have a responsibility to tell this court what took place on the fateful night,” said Justice Ogola.

Circumstantial evidence

According to the charge sheet, the accused, with others not before the court, murdered Alexander on May 19, 2012 at Diani location in Msambweni Constituency, Kwale County.

Alexander was the son of Lord Nicholas Monson.

Mr Ogola noted that the case hinges strongly on the doctrine of circumstantial evidence, and that the analysis of this evidence has shown Alexander was in good health when he was arrested.

He said circumstances pointed to the accused in the murder case, as they were the people who handled the Briton following the arrest.

Through their lawyers, the accused told the court that they will give their evidence on oath.

Bond terms remain

The court rejected an application by the prosecution for the accused’s bond terms to be revoked, pending the hearing of the case.

While noting that the cancellation of bond terms is not a light matter, Justice Ogola said cogent evidence contained in an affidavit has to be presented in court.

“The prosecution witnesses testified. The application is speculative and premature,” he said.

The judge, however, told the accused that they must adhere to the bond terms, which he said will be cancelled if they interfere with witnesses.

Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Alexander Muteti, had argued that as long as the accused remained free, victims and potential witnesses the prosecution intended to call would be at high risk of danger.

Mr Muteti further said the accused were police officers trained on handling firearms and intelligence.

“The matter borders on the national integrity of our criminal justice system. The deceased was not a Kenyan citizen,” he said.

Defence arguments

Defence lawyers urged the court not to cancel or impose any conditions on the bond terms, saying the application by the prosecution was premature.

Lawyer Jared Magolo, one of the defence lawyers, said the application by the prosecution was premature and noted that the court does not make decisions based on speculation.

The prosecution closed its case against the three police officers and their retired colleague by calling 32 witnesses, among them the mother of the deceased and an investigations officer from the Independent Policing and Oversight Authority (Ipoa).

The defence hearing will take place on May 10 and 11.

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