He's gotten off very lightly. Clearly a case of the mzungu greasing a few palms. Had he been a local Kenyan, I doubt that he'd be seeing the light of day. It's a shame the Kenyan judicial system could not have made an example out of him.
What are the general feelings about this in Kenya? I don't know what to think. Part of me thinks that had he been a local he would have got longer, the other thinks "bloody hell, 3 years in remand".
I am white and a Kenyan, so as "local" as any other Kenyan - black, white or brown - that is out there. In the last ten years I have had five friends murdered by criminals who broke into private houses and mowed down the occupants in a hail of bullets. Not one of them has been brought to trial. Am I angry about this, yes I am!
Your bilious assertion that Tom Cholmondely has been treated differently in the courts because of his race and privilege is totally wrong. He's spent three years in remand in the most frightful conditions with constant death threats and very little food - just like all the other prisoners. And he's not even a murderer. Where are all the violent murderers who killed indiscriminately during the post election violence - who threw children back into the blaze of a burning church? Why haven't they been brought to trial.
Had Tom been a local Kenyan his case would not have been so high profile and he might have got off even more lightly. See the case preceeding his of the woman who murdered her husband in a drunken rage. She got three months.
The assumption that Tom Cholmondely has greased palms is ridiculous. You underestimate the integrity of his lawyer, Fred Odhiambo.
If you had bothered to go to court or read the transcripts of the trial you would see quite clearly that this is by no means a case of murder. In fact it is highly doubtful that Tom was even the guy who shot Njoya. What it does highlight, however, are the gaping holes in our legal system - that the judge completely disregarded the defence and relied on hearsay evidence; that courts have a backlog of approx 850,000 cases with prisoners in remand for years before their cases are heard; that the crime site was tampered with after Cholmondely was arrested and it took the police 14 days to find the spent cartridges (funny that!); that the forensic team were incapable of coming to any kind of conclusion about the bullet shards; that, like the racially loaded OJ Simpson trial, pressure from the public seems to matter more than the evidence; and that as with my murdered friends, the police seem to be incapable of conducting a proper investigation.
"Anonymous" you would do well to get your facts right before making such inflammatory comments. As for saying "dead man walking" - I would even go so far as to say you are inciting hatred and violence. Shame on you!
@ Haki, you're assertion that ole Tommy boy is not a murderer is completely baseless, he is a convicted murderer. Justice Apondi decreed it and that is a fact in itself. The fact that he chose the lesser charge of manslaughter and didn't go with murder one was the first indication that the case was going to the dogs. Do not forget, this is not the first time Lord Trigger Happy has been charged with killing a man. When this incident occurred in 2006, the man had just been cleared (under suspicious circumstances) of killing a ranger. Clearly, we can go on and on about reverse racism and the fact that everyone is hard on him due to his race and status, but Cholmondeley has done himself no favours by his blatant disregard for black life. My two cents for the Lord of the bullets, "Here's a totally wild idea, let's not kill the natives and maybe...maybe...we won't keep landing in jail? Mmmmkay?" "Oh yeah, and stop trying to pawn it off on your bud, Tundo. Totally in bad taste man."
crime scene tampered with --- By Tom and his mates not as insinuated by Carl!!! Tom and his manager were at the scene alone for 2 hours before police arrived...carl not there!! even judge asked why he moved everything around! Why did he I wonder??? - funny cartrigdges turning up after 14 days...but only when Tom's manager suggested to the police that they should have 'one last look'. funny that!!! why would the police want to remove cartridges ?? no reason - but tom had every reason!!! come on tom - you say justice has been served - it wont be served until you clear carl's name. Be a man and do it!!
crime scene tampered with - yes but by Tom and managers - he was alone on the site for two hours before police came....cartridges missing for 14 days....?? strange they were only found when Tom's managers suggested that they have 'one last look' and lo and behold there they were!! police had no reason to hide the cartridges - but Tom did!! so until you get your facts straight and think logically - dont comment. Tom says 'Justice has been served' - but no Tom it hasnt until you are man enough to stand up and clear Carls name.
I agree with the judges decision.tom's lawyer did a good job.Mr.Fred odhiambo defended his client well so kenyans should stop complainlng over the judges verdict.In the first place what was this man doing in another mans land,that is an act of trespass to land.I rest my case.
Actually, I think that Tom has been treated differently because of his colour - much more harshly. The verdict and sentence were clearly political decisions based around a compromise.
For Haki: You start by saying you are a white kenyan so as a kenyan where does the following sentence ring true except for when you have greased palms? "Had Tom been a local Kenyan his case would not have been so high profile and he might have got off even more lightly. See the case preceeding his of the woman who murdered her husband in a drunken rage. She got three months"."
Sorry about your friends but this is about Tom and how he got off easy for killing 2 of your fellow kenyans. Stay focused.
We need to get our facts straight before making all sorts of assertions. Carl Tundo admitted in a BBC interview that after the shooting, he was scared, cried and requested Tom not to mention to anyone that he (Carl) also had a shotgun and and also fired shots at the dogs and intruder.
Tom agreed and did not mention Carl's shotgun in the police report.
The cartdriges on the site and the body were never matched to Tom's gun.
There are too many gaping holes in this case. And i feel a man who acted in selfdefence has spent 3 years in remand for nothing.
We live in Kenya, where human life means nothing to the average intruder. They will take everything they can take, shoot you and rape an gradmother on site, just for good measure. If i had a gun and there was an intruder on my farm, i would also shoot. What are you doing on my land, hello? Damned if i'm going to sit quietly by and let you make a statistic of me and my family.
I am a Kenyan of Sri Lankan origin and do not care about black or white. Our legal system sucks. Lets put emotion aside and look at the facts. Their simply wasnt enough evidence to convict this man, and he spent 3 years in jail.
i have come across your interesting blog and although i am neither female nor living in Africa i am induced to comment! Rebecca i suggest you watch that interview again; Carl said no such thing. The weapon referred to was a handgun, not a shotgun. And it was Tom who suggested that Carl had a gun(how convenient) which Carl Fervently denied.Personally i beleived Carl. What i can't understand is why the native kenyans have not forcefully removed the white settlers from their land? The guile of people like Enniskillen and co claiming that they are "Conservationists" and only worried about the animals is hilarious. it is clear to my that the indigenous people of Africa are only "Animals" to these so called civilized whites.if there was any honor in these peoples bones they would do the right thing and return all the land that they stole from the natives back to the government of Kenya in order for it to be redistributed to those in need, and apologise to all black kenyans for the crimes visited upon them.
Any sign of the Delamare Klan paying reparations to the family of Robert Njoya? we could all learn from The humility shown by his wife White European
He's gotten off very lightly. Clearly a case of the mzungu greasing a few palms. Had he been a local Kenyan, I doubt that he'd be seeing the light of day. It's a shame the Kenyan judicial system could not have made an example out of him.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the general feelings about this in Kenya? I don't know what to think. Part of me thinks that had he been a local he would have got longer, the other thinks "bloody hell, 3 years in remand".
ReplyDeleteDead man walking after 8 months
ReplyDeleteI am white and a Kenyan, so as "local" as any other Kenyan - black, white or brown - that is out there. In the last ten years I have had five friends murdered by criminals who broke into private houses and mowed down the occupants in a hail of bullets. Not one of them has been brought to trial. Am I angry about this, yes I am!
ReplyDeleteYour bilious assertion that Tom Cholmondely has been treated differently in the courts because of his race and privilege is totally wrong. He's spent three years in remand in the most frightful conditions with constant death threats and very little food - just like all the other prisoners. And he's not even a murderer. Where are all the violent murderers who killed indiscriminately during the post election violence - who threw children back into the blaze of a burning church? Why haven't they been brought to trial.
Had Tom been a local Kenyan his case would not have been so high profile and he might have got off even more lightly. See the case preceeding his of the woman who murdered her husband in a drunken rage. She got three months.
The assumption that Tom Cholmondely has greased palms is ridiculous. You underestimate the integrity of his lawyer, Fred Odhiambo.
If you had bothered to go to court or read the transcripts of the trial you would see quite clearly that this is by no means a case of murder. In fact it is highly doubtful that Tom was even the guy who shot Njoya. What it does highlight, however, are the gaping holes in our legal system - that the judge completely disregarded the defence and relied on hearsay evidence; that courts have a backlog of approx 850,000 cases with prisoners in remand for years before their cases are heard; that the crime site was tampered with after Cholmondely was arrested and it took the police 14 days to find the spent cartridges (funny that!); that the forensic team were incapable of coming to any kind of conclusion about the bullet shards; that, like the racially loaded OJ Simpson trial, pressure from the public seems to matter more than the evidence; and that as with my murdered friends, the police seem to be incapable of conducting a proper investigation.
"Anonymous" you would do well to get your facts right before making such inflammatory comments. As for saying "dead man walking" - I would even go so far as to say you are inciting hatred and violence. Shame on you!
@ Haki,
ReplyDeleteyou're assertion that ole Tommy boy is not a murderer is completely baseless, he is a convicted murderer. Justice Apondi decreed it and that is a fact in itself. The fact that he chose the lesser charge of manslaughter and didn't go with murder one was the first indication that the case was going to the dogs. Do not forget, this is not the first time Lord Trigger Happy has been charged with killing a man. When this incident occurred in 2006, the man had just been cleared (under suspicious circumstances) of killing a ranger.
Clearly, we can go on and on about reverse racism and the fact that everyone is hard on him due to his race and status, but Cholmondeley has done himself no favours by his blatant disregard for black life.
My two cents for the Lord of the bullets, "Here's a totally wild idea, let's not kill the natives and maybe...maybe...we won't keep landing in jail? Mmmmkay?"
"Oh yeah, and stop trying to pawn it off on your bud, Tundo. Totally in bad taste man."
crime scene tampered with --- By Tom and his mates not as insinuated by Carl!!! Tom and his manager were at the scene alone for 2 hours before police arrived...carl not there!! even judge asked why he moved everything around! Why did he I wonder??? - funny cartrigdges turning up after 14 days...but only when Tom's manager suggested to the police that they should have 'one last look'. funny that!!! why would the police want to remove cartridges ?? no reason - but tom had every reason!!!
ReplyDeletecome on tom - you say justice has been served - it wont be served until you clear carl's name. Be a man and do it!!
crime scene tampered with - yes but by Tom and managers - he was alone on the site for two hours before police came....cartridges missing for 14 days....?? strange they were only found when Tom's managers suggested that they have 'one last look' and lo and behold there they were!! police had no reason to hide the cartridges - but Tom did!! so until you get your facts straight and think logically - dont comment.
ReplyDeleteTom says 'Justice has been served' - but no Tom it hasnt until you are man enough to stand up and clear Carls name.
I agree with the judges decision.tom's lawyer did a good job.Mr.Fred odhiambo defended his client well so kenyans should stop complainlng over the judges verdict.In the first place what was this man doing in another mans land,that is an act of trespass to land.I rest my case.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think that Tom has been treated differently because of his colour - much more harshly. The verdict and sentence were clearly political decisions based around a compromise.
ReplyDeleteFor Haki:
ReplyDeleteYou start by saying you are a white kenyan so as a kenyan where does the following sentence ring true except for when you have greased palms?
"Had Tom been a local Kenyan his case would not have been so high profile and he might have got off even more lightly. See the case preceeding his of the woman who murdered her husband in a drunken rage. She got three months"."
Sorry about your friends but this is about Tom and how he got off easy for killing 2 of your fellow kenyans. Stay focused.
We need to get our facts straight before making all sorts of assertions. Carl Tundo admitted in a BBC interview that after the shooting, he was scared, cried and requested Tom not to mention to anyone that he (Carl) also had a shotgun and and also fired shots at the dogs and intruder.
ReplyDeleteTom agreed and did not mention Carl's shotgun in the police report.
The cartdriges on the site and the body were never matched to Tom's gun.
There are too many gaping holes in this case. And i feel a man who acted in selfdefence has spent 3 years in remand for nothing.
We live in Kenya, where human life means nothing to the average intruder. They will take everything they can take, shoot you and rape an gradmother on site, just for good measure. If i had a gun and there was an intruder on my farm, i would also shoot. What are you doing on my land, hello? Damned if i'm going to sit quietly by and let you make a statistic of me and my family.
I am a Kenyan of Sri Lankan origin and do not care about black or white. Our legal system sucks.
Lets put emotion aside and look at the facts. Their simply wasnt enough evidence to convict this man, and he spent 3 years in jail.
i have come across your interesting blog and although i am neither female nor living in Africa i am induced to comment!
ReplyDeleteRebecca i suggest you watch that interview again; Carl said no such thing. The weapon referred to was a handgun, not a shotgun. And it was Tom who suggested that Carl had a gun(how convenient) which Carl Fervently denied.Personally i beleived Carl.
What i can't understand is why the native kenyans have not forcefully removed the white settlers from their land? The guile of people like Enniskillen and co claiming that they are "Conservationists" and only worried about the animals is hilarious. it is clear to my that the indigenous people of Africa are only "Animals" to these so called civilized whites.if there was any honor in these peoples bones they would do the right thing and return all the land that they stole from the natives back to the government of Kenya in order for it to be redistributed to those in need, and apologise to all black kenyans for the crimes visited upon them.
Any sign of the Delamare Klan paying reparations to the family of Robert Njoya? we could all learn from The humility shown by his wife
White European