Death of peer’s son in Kenya at hands of police, inquest is told

A KENYAN policeman was accused of having “blood on his hands” over the alleged fatal beating in custody of British peer’s son Alexander Monson.

In a Kenyan court yesterday, Sergeant Naftali Chege was told that the 28-year-old’s family held him responsible.

At an inquest into Mr Monson’s death in May 2012 in the coastal town of Diani, Sgt Chege was formally accused of assaulting him first in his car then, more seriously, in a police cell.

Alfred Olaba, a lawyer for the family, accused the officer of planting marijuana on Mr Monson to solicit a bribe, then fatally assaulting him with a rifle butt when he refused to play along.

“You and your compatriot [Inspector] Munyiri beat Alexander senseless. You took him back to the cells when he was already semi-conscious. You never bothered to find the condition of your prisoner and as a result Alexander died,” Mr Olaba said.

“That’s not true. That’s a false allegation,” Sgt Chege insisted.

An autopsy found that Mr Monson died from a blow to the head. Injuries to his left arm and groin came from what his family says was a severe beating while he was in the police cells.

Kenyan police claim he died of a drugs overdose and the east African country’s Independent Police Oversight Authority, which investigates deaths in custody, ruled there was no case for the police to answer.

Sgt Chege conceded that Mr Monson was in “very good physical shape” when he arrived at the police station but denied any knowledge of a beating.

The trial continues.