Pirate murder victim’s widow: You’ve jailed an innocent man
Brit kidnap survivor backs freedom bid
THE widow of a man shot dead by pirates is supporting the killer’s bid for freedom.
Judith Tebbutt, 67, and husband David were abducted by a Somali gang from a luxury Kenyan resort in 2011.
David was killed and Judith held hostage for six months.
Kenyan Ali Kololo was the only person convicted in relation to the murder and kidnapping.
A Kenyan judge handed him a death sentence in 2013, but it was later reduced to life in jail.
Now Judith has revealed she is supporting his imminent bid for freedom, saying he was made a “scapegoat” by Scotland Yard, who failed to find her true attackers.
She told The Sunday Times: “I believe he is an innocent man and he should be freed.
“I know for sure that he wasn’t part of that group that took me that night.
“You could go so far as to say he was a bit of a scapegoat... when he was put in prison. The people that took me are still out there.
“Whereas Mr Kololo, who I believe didn’t have anything to do with the death or my abduction, has been in prison for the last 11 years.”
Judith has pointed the finger at now retired DCI Neil Hibberd.
An Independent Office for Police Conduct draft report found there was a “suspicion” that Mr Hibberd “would have a case to answer for gross misconduct” in relation to evidence he provided to the trial in Kenya.
But Commander Richard Smith, from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “However, given the officer retired prior to December 2017, and is not subject to Former Officer Regulations, there is no avenue available to us to or instigate any further disciplinary proceedings.”