Wednesday, July 25, 2007

ARISTOCRAT HAS 'CASE TO ANSWER' !

Old Etonian Mr Cholmondeley could face the death penalty if convicted. A British aristocrat accused of murdering a man who had been poaching on his Kenyan estate has a case to answer, a court has ruled.
Thomas Cholmondeley, 38, a descendant of white settler Lord Delamere, denies the murder of 37-year-old Robert Njoya.
The court has heard from 38 prosecution witnesses since it opened in September.
Under the Kenyan system judges can end the trial if they decide there is insufficient evidence, but in this case have ruled the defence should go ahead.
Defence lawyers for Mr Cholmondley, who faces the death penalty if convicted, are due to call seven witnesses.
He has already said he shot the poacher in self-defence.
It is the second murder charge divorced father-of-two Mr Cholmondeley has faced.
In 2005 he admitted shooting Maasai ranger Samson Ole Sisina but said he acted in self-defence, mistaking the warden for an armed robber.
The case was dropped due to insufficient evidence and his release prompted national outrage and mass protests from Maasais.
The case highlighted the security fears of landowners and the resentment of the local Maasai population in the Rift Valley region.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

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