Aristocrat Shot Poacher Deliberately, Trial Told

Kenya's chief prosecutor told the murder trial of one of the country's best-known aristocrats yesterday that Eton-educated Thomas Cholmondeley had deliberately shot a man for poaching and then tried to cover up his crime.

Mr Cholmondeley, 38, sole heir to the vast estates in Kenya's Rift Valley of his parents, Lord and Lady Delamere, denies the murder of a 37-year-old stonemason, Robert Njoya.

The trial is politically charged because it is the second time in little more than a year that Mr Cholmondeley has faced a murder charge for killing a black man, and because it touches on sensitivities about large landholdings remaining in the hands of the descendants of white colonists.

In his opening statement, the director of public prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, said the evidence would show that Mr Cholmondeley had deliberately shot at Mr Njoya and two other men who encroached on to his 22,600-hectare (56,000-acre) estate in search of game.

"The accused attacked the deceased and his companions as a retaliation or revenge for trespassing and poaching on his land," Mr Tobiko said. "The accused intended to cause death or grievous bodily harm to the deceased or the deceased's companions. The accused knew or ought to have known that the natural consequence of his action would be death."

The prosecutor said that after Mr Cholmondeley shot the poacher and two of his dogs, he had sought to cover up the circumstances: "In an attempt to conceal his crime, or hinder investigators, the accused tampered with the scene after shooting the deceased and two dogs."

Mr Tobiko described how on the day of the killing in May, Mr Njoya and his companions had ventured on to Mr Cholmondeley's estate to check illegal snares they had set to catch game. The men were armed with machetes, clubs and a spear and accompanied by six dogs.

Mr Cholmondeley had caught up with the men after they found a gazelle in a snare and began butchering it. The prosecution alleges that at that point he opened fire with intent to kill. Mr Tobiko said Mr Njoya had been running away when he was shot and that Mr Cholmondeley "was not under any attack from the deceased or any of his companions".

Before the trial, Mr Cholmondeley said he had opened fire because the poachers' dogs were attacking him and that he had accidentally hit Mr Njoya.

Although Mr Cholmondeley is on trial for murder, the judge - who is advised by three lay assessors - can convict him on a lesser charge such as manslaughter.

Last year Mr Cholmondeley was charged with murder after he shot dead a government wildlife ranger in pursuit of poachers on Delamere land. The charges were dropped for lack of evidence.

The trial continues today.