Lord Delamere's heir dies in a Nairobi hospital aged 48

Tom Cholmondeley. The controversial aristocrat and Naivasha farmer died while undergoing treatment in Nairobi. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

Controversial aristocrat and Naivasha farmer Tom Cholmondeley Delamere has died while undergoing treatment in Nairobi.

Tom, as he was better known, died yesterday in the afternoon while undergoing hip surgery at MP Shah Hospital where he had been admitted on Tuesday afternoon.

His death at 48 years was met with shock and disbelief by his relatives and friends.

Cholmondeley (pictured) was the son of the 5th Lord Delamere, a scion of Kenya’s British settler aristocracy, and was twice accused of shooting dead two people in the expansive family farm in Naivasha.

Thronged hospital

Soon after the death, relatives flocked to his parents’ home at Soysambu, a ranch off the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, to condole with them.

His father Lord Hughes George Delamere is in his 80s while the mother, Lady Ann, is in her late 70s.

Mr Cholmondeley, who was born on June 19, 1968 was rushed to the hospital with pain in his hip, which needed a replacement. His friends and relatives thronged the hospital following news of the death. He lived in Naivasha and Nairobi.

The first Delamere came to Kenya in November 1897 and earned himself a name for amassing land and promoting the superiority of the British settlers.

As the president of the colonists in the 1920s, Delamere wanted Kenya to be transformed into a white man’s country and was violently opposed to the settling of Asians in the country.

The only other Delamere who propelled the family into international spotlight was Lady Delamere, who featured prominently in the murder of a Casanova aristocrat, Lord Errol, whose death in 1941 has forever remained a mystery. 

Tom, who has been out of limelight for some years now, leaves behind two teenage sons and a fiancée, Ms Sarah Dudnesh.

At the time of his death, Tom was the director and heir of the vast Delamere estate, which is involved in livestock production and growing of various livestock feeds.

According to a source in the family who declined to be named, Tom had been suffering from hip complications for the last two years.

The source added that the deceased was involved in an accident while riding a motorcycle in the UK a couple of years ago.

During the accident, he was seriously injured mainly on the hip and was admitted to hospital.

“Tom was an avid motorcycle rider and in one of the expeditions he was involved in an accident that shattered his hip joint and had to undergo a long surgery,” said the source.

“For the last two years, Tom has been limping and even sought medical services in the UK before a doctor referred him to an expert in Kenya for the hip joint,” said the source.

Cholmondeley was also involved in the first phase of the construction of Naivasha Buffalo mall.

Peter Mungai, who met Tom on several occasions, termed his death as a big blow to the economy of Naivasha. Mungai said the deceased was down-to-earth despite the negative publicity he received some years back.

“The man had a listening ear and had great ideas about expanding the family business and it’s tragic that we have lost him at such a tender age,” he said.

Hit the headlines

Tom hit the headlines in May 2005 after he shot and killed KWS game warden Samson Ole Sisina in his Soysambu farm.

Mr Sisina was among KWS officers who raided the farm following reports that the management was involved in processing of game meat.

This killing led to countrywide demonstrations, with leaders calling for a boycott of his livestock products. He was later arrested and arraigned in court.

The then Attorney General Amos Wako terminated the case against him, drawing sharp condemnation from various quarters.

Later in May 2006, he opened fire and killed Robert Njoya, a stonemason, who was allegedly poaching on the vast Delamere farm. He was arrested and remanded at Kamiti Maximum Prison for three years.

In April 2009, Cholmondeley was sentenced to eight months in jail for manslaughter, after a judge found no evidence to sustain the original charge of murder.

Additional reporting by Jeckonia Otieno