Mombasa court told of Akasha son's link to death of British man in Nyali

 

Richard Veevers testify during the Inquest of the late British, Harry Veevers at the Mombasa Law Court in Mombasa County on Monday 28th November 2016. Richard is the son of the late Harry Veevers. Photo/Kelvin Karani

A British man claims Baktash Akasha, the son of slain drug trafficker Akasha Abdalla, warned him against pursing an inquest into the death of his father.

Richard John Veevers, a martial arts instructor from Halifax, United Kingdom, yesterday told court, Baktash threatened him with a gun during a meeting at a bar in Nyali in October last year and told him to stop digging into his father’s death.

He told Mombasa Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti yesterday that he has also learnt Baktash, wanted in the US for drug related charges, is a boyfriend to his half-sister, Alexander Veevers.

Late Harry Roy Veevers’s family is embroiled in a multi-million shilling property dispute. The case involving children of two women once married to Harry has been at the High Court in Mombasa since last year. Harry died in his house in Mombasa in February 2013.

The body of Briton, who migrated to Kenya in the early 1990s, has been lying at the Coast General Hospital mortuary for two years pending the outcome of the inquest into his death.

Harry, a wealthy man with vast investments in the UK, was well-known for his philandering ways. His infidelity is said to have driven his first British wife, Marvis Florence, who is Richard’s mother, to divorce him. She lives in the UK.

After the divorce, Harry met a British Muslim woman in the UK, Azra Parveen Din, with whom he migrated to Kenya with and had two daughters, including Alexander.

The two women and their children are now locked up in a major dispute over property. Harry’s first family wants his body taken back to the UK for burial while Azra and her children want it buried in Kenya at the cemetery where it was exhumed in 2014 when the dispute erupted.

The cause of Harry’s death is the subject of a judicial inquiry. Harry’s first family in the UK believes he was poisoned and hurriedly buried at the Muslim cemetery without an autopsy to conceal the cause of his death.

Florence and her children are also contesting Azra’s claim that Harry died a Muslim. They are disputing the claim Harry converted to Islam after divorcing Florence. They swear there is no evidence in the UK that Harry and Azra married legally.

And yesterday Richard, introduced a new angle to the feud when he claimed Alexander has links with the controversial Akasha dynasty.

“I was playing pool at Masai Bar in Nyali when somebody called me. When I went to their table, I found Alexander Veevers sitting next to Baktash Akasha who told me Alexander was his girlfriend. He warned me against pursuing the cause of my father's death,” he said.

Richard told court that during the alleged altercation at the bar, Baktash threatened him with a pistol and told him to stop wasting his time pursuing the cause of his father’s death.

He said he learnt of his father’s death while in the UK from his late sister who had also been informed of the incident by Alexander Veevers.

Richard told court he was surprised to be told his father had died from heart attack.

After getting the information, Richard said he left London on the same day in the company of his siblings. They went to Pandya Hospital mortuary and were surprised to see their father’s body had turned pink.

Last year, Richard testified he suspects his stepmother, Azra, poisoned their father for planning to marry another woman. He maintained his father was never sick.

He denied claims by Azra’s lawyer, William Mogaka, that his father had indicated he would commit suicide.