Delamere Heir’s Controversial Case Raises Questions on Justice in Kenya
Thomas Patrick, a member of the Delamere family that owns the popular Delamere yoghurt brand, spent only three years and eight months in Kamiti Maximum Security Prison despite being linked to the deaths of two Kenyans. His case has drawn attention about whether justice is applied equally regardless of social status and influence.
On April 19, 2005, Thomas shot and killed Samson Ole Sisina, an undercover Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) ranger who was investigating the illegal bushmeat trade on the Delamere ranch. Thomas claimed he acted in self-defence after arriving at a slaughterhouse on the ranch and believing a robbery was taking place. The Attorney General later dropped the murder charges before the case went to trial.
In 2006, Thomas was arrested again following the death of Robert Njoya Mbugua, a local stonemason. Thomas and rally driver Carl “Flash” Tundo reportedly encountered Njoya and several other men on the ranch carrying a dead impala and accompanied by dogs. Thomas said he fired at the dogs to scare them away but accidentally shot Njoya.
Thomas and Tundo were arrested after the incident, although Tundo was later released without charge. Thomas remained in custody for more than three years while the case was heard. In May 2009, the High Court acquitted him of murder but convicted him of manslaughter. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, but having already spent more than three years in remand, he was released in October 2009.
