Few people possess intimate knowledge and experience of life behind bars like Ali Babito Kololo does.
After serving more than 11 years in jail for a crime he maintains he did not commit, Kololo says his life will take a new direction after his release.
Kololo was arrested for the kidnapping of British tourist Judith Tebbutt and the shooting death of her husband David at a beach resort on Kiwayu Island, Lamu, on September 10, 2011. Judith was released six months later after their son paid ransom.
Her kidnapping was one of the cases believed to have triggered the Kenya Defence Forces’ Operation Linda Nchi in Somalia in October 2011.
The High Court in Malindi last month acquitted him, saying there was not enough evidence to link him to the incident.
“I am happy to be a free man because life in prison was not easy. I thank God he saw me through,” Kololo said in an interview.
For the period he was incarcerated, he was not sure he would ever walk free and reunite with his family.
“I am now going to fully focus on raising my children. I thank the court for setting me free,” said Kololo, who was accompanied by his sisters.
When he travelled to his home town of Lamu, he could not recognise his own children, who were young when he was arrested and detained.
“They couldn’t recognise me either. We kept on staring at each other like strangers. They are now grown-ups. They were very young when I was arrested,” he said.
Despite this, Kololo said he was happy that he can now continue with his life.
“At least I can now concentrate on my personal growth and development. This freedom means a lot to me. The life in prison was unbearable, not so many people are lucky to get out of that building,” he said.
When the crime happened, Kololo was arrested and accused of leading the attackers to the resort. He was tried and convicted by a magistrate court, which handed him a death sentence and seven years imprisonment. The death sentence would later be commuted to life imprisonment, before the High Court last month set him free after reviewing evidence.
Judith expressed her joy at Kololo’s acquittal and remorseful that Kololo had been jailed for offences he did not commit.
“I am so sorry that this happened to you and that you, your family and children have suffered so much,” she said.
She has thanked the court for freeing him, maintaining that Kololo was not part of the group of men that murdered her husband and then abducted her.
“I vividly remember the first time I saw him via satellite in the courtroom, looking shocked, confused and frightened,” she said.
Judith, who has been campaigning for Kololo’s release, said she has over the last 10 years understood how unjust and unfair the original trial in Lamu was and how the balance of power was stacked against him.
“So much seems to have been kept hidden and so many questions remain unanswered and I feel very concerned that the British police have been deeply implicated in this travesty of justice,” she said.
She added: “An innocent man and his children have been denied a life together over the last decade. From my own experience, I know how challenging that can be, but I want you to know that I wish you and your family all the very best for the future.”
Malindi High Court Judge Stephen Githinji set Kololo free after reviewing evidence that also included documents from the United Kingdom.
“The conviction was unsafe. The appeal is allowed and the sentence is quashed,” Justice Githinji said.
Reacting to the judgment, Reprieve (a UK-based organisation) Director Maya Foa said Kololo’s trial was one of the most unfair imaginable, adding that it was a tragedy that it took so long to reach this point.
“The imbalance of power in the courtroom was staggering, between the senior Metropolitan Police detective testifying for the prosecution and the illiterate defendant, being tried in a language he did not understand, without the aid of a lawyer for most of the trial,” she said.
Though happy with the judgment, Kololo’s lawyer Alfred Olaba noted that it is hard to talk of justice when an innocent man had lost 11 years of his life to “a rigged investigation and unfair trial”.
Kololo’s acquittal came two months after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions told the High Court that he may have been wrongly convicted.
