This archive report was first published on 24 October 2019.
On October 23, 2019, Hilary Monson, the mother of late Alexander Monson, attended a hearing at the Mombasa High Court in Mombasa County. The case involved four police officers charged with the murder of her son, who died in 2012.
A judicial inquest had previously recommended murder charges against Chief Inspector Charles Wangombe Munyiri, Corporal Naftali Chege, Baraka Bulima, and John Pamba. The inquest found that Monson died after being hit on the scrotum and back of the head with a gun butt or kicked.
According to testimony from Chief Inspector Raphael Mulwa, constables Pamba and Baraka, who were manning the report office on May 19, 2012, should be held responsible for any inmate who was in the police cell on that day. Mulwa stated, 'The two police officers who were manning the report office on May 19, 2012, should be held responsible for anything that happened to inmates in the cell if they did not take action by informing their immediate seniors.'
Monson's death was initially attributed to a drug overdose, but a postmortem revealed that he died from a head injury inflicted in police custody. The case has been ongoing, with Monson's mother, Hillary Martin, already testifying.
Monson was the son of Lord Nicholas Monson and heir to the family estate in Lincolnshire. He came to Kenya in 2008 and was living with his mother in Diani at the time of his death.
