President Ruto motorcade driver blamed in Brit’s death

The death of British national Edgar Riches, 78, could have been avoided if the driver in President William Ruto’s motorcade had not been reckless, a United Kingdom (UK) coroner’s investigation has concluded.

On March 13, 2025, Riches, a charity worker who was raising money for an East African-based school, was knocked down by a vehicle in President Ruto’s motorcade as he crossed at a pedestrian crossing along Ngong Road in Nairobi.

A pedestrian crossing is a designated crosswalk marked by broad black and white stripes on the road, where pedestrians generally have the right of way over vehicles.

Dorset Senior Coroner Brendan Allen said evidence showed Riches was lawfully crossing the road when the government vehicle hit him, causing fatal polytrauma injuries consistent with a high-impact collision.

“There are always difficulties in obtaining evidence from outside jurisdictions. Some countries are more forthcoming than others,” Allen said as he released his findings.

The coroner said that the driver of the vehicle, a white Toyota Prado, did not stop when he knocked down Riches and instead followed the highly speeding motorcade.

To prove that the inquest had challenges, the coroner said that it only relied on a post-mortem report plus a brief statement from the Office of the Inspector General for the National Police Service after a review of CCTV footage. 

However, the coroner said that getting the details was not a walk in the park and there was a struggle to find details of what transpired leading to Riches' death.

On March 15, 2025, the driver of the Prado, which is attached to the Ministry of Interior, appeared in court and was fined Sh100,000 after he pleaded guilty. That was the end of the case.

Immediately he was set free, Ms Pauline Olden, who is Riches' daughter, condemned the justice process.

“My father was in the final part of his charity walk, which he does every year, to raise money for the country he loves visiting,” Ms Olden said as she added that her father was killed at a point where pedestrians are usually encouraged to use when crossing the road.

She wondered why several police cars and an ambulance that were part of the motorcade never stopped to help the man who was lying on the tarmac, groaning in pain.

The 78-year-old was left with injuries to his head and chest and died on impact with the vehicle.

Riches, a retired bank manager, hailed from Poole, Dorset and was in Kenya visiting family and actively raised money for the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod), often organising social events to support charities.