Inquest into death of British aristocrat begins

The family of a British aristocrat who died in police custody in Kwale three years ago is pessimistic about a public inquest into his death that begins in Mombasa this morning.

Alexander, the only son and heir to the Monson baronetcy, arrived in Kenya on April 23, 2012 and died almost a month later triggering a pile of contradicting police statements, family denials and conflicting autopsy reports.

In an exclusive interview with The Standard, Lord Nicholas Monson Sunday said he learnt about the inquest from the British government six days ago.

Lord Monson warned that the magistrate leading the inquest might find it hard to establish the truth due to alleged gaps in evidence.

"A senior barrister in my country has analysed the (witness) statements and found that most of them are inadmissible in European courts," said Monson, adding that some documents are contradictory while other necessary ones are missing.

He has made several trips to Kenya to try and find his son's killers. Alexander died at Diani police station under mysterious circumstances. Police claimed then that he was taken ill in police cells after his arrest at Tanduri night club in Diani and died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in the tourist town.

Credit cards

A mystery man identified only as Andrew, who, was allegedly arrested with Alexander, has never been heard of again. Reports also showed that some of his personal documentation, including his credit cards, were found by a suspect that remains unknown. Some police accounts indicate that the victim was foaming at the mouth before being taken to hospital.

Other police accounts allege Alexander banged his head on the police cell door but it has never been clear who took him out of the cell and took him to hospital. Police accounts also do not state exactly how the victim received his injuries.

The Director of Public Prosecution has lined up 56 witnesses to testify. Assistant Director of Public Prosecution Alex Muteti dismissed Lord Monson's claims as opinions.

"We have witnesses and we will do all we can to reach the right decision. Let him formally write to us with his complaints so that they can be addressed," Muteti told The Standard Sunday evening.

Following Alexander's death, Kwale police claimed they caught him smoking bhang (cannabis sativa) but the autopsy report performed days later indicated that the victim died because of blunt trauma to his head and scrotum.