British couple kidnap case marred by ‘flawed investigations’

Ali Babitu Kololo is led to court by police for the hearing of the kidnap case. (Photo:File/Standard)

Kenya: A Kenyan sentenced to death in July 2013 for the murder and kidnapping of a British couple on holiday at the coast, has filed a lawsuit in London accusing the UK Government of torture.

Ali Babitu Kololo, a 35-year-old father of two from Lamu, currently on death row at Shimo La Tewa Prison in Mombasa, was found guilty by a Kenyan court for being part of a gang that shot dead David Tebbut before kidnapping his wife, Judith.

The incident led to the Kenyan Government sending military troops into Somalia. Kololo now claims he was tortured by local police into ‘confessing’ that he led the kidnappers to the camp. His case is supported by human rights firm Reprieve and Leigh Day, the same one that represented Mau Mau victims now seeking a judicial review of the official UK support for the Kenyan investigation.

According to the new case, after the 2011 raid, the hotel ordered staff and police to pick up anyone in the vicinity as a suspect. The following morning, Kololo was seized while walking a few kilometres from the hotel - on his way to report that he himself had been kidnapped. Instead, he was beaten and tortured, including having his private parts squeezed and twisted. He immediately recanted his confession afterwards, and has maintained his innocence.

Aside from his confession, the only other key evidence against Kololo is a footprint Kenyan police claim to have found at the scene – yet, at the trial, it was found the shoe in question did not fit Kololo, and the arresting officer claims he was barefoot when arrested. The kidnapped widow also came to Kololo’s aid when she confirmed he was not among the attackers. He was unrepresented until after the prosecution.

Reprieve provides legal assistance to prisoners on death row unable to pay a bid to secure their rights to a fair trial. It took up Kololo’s case after finding ‘compelling evidence of Ali’s innocence.’ But it says the evidence was ignored by officers from the Metropolitan Police who, on orders of the Home Office, provided flawed and contradictory evidence to Kenyan courts.

“To support our legal action we have a substantial witness statement for the prosecution from Detective Superintendent (DCI) Neil Hibberd of the Metropolitan Police. Mr Hibberd’s testimony, both written and verbal in court, was particularly influential in determining the outcome of the trial,” Alice Gillham, the press officer at Reprieve told The Standard on Sunday in London.

In one of the pre-action letters, Leigh Day’s legal team notes that Kololo was sentenced to death in Kenya, on the basis of an investigation and prosecution ‘materially contributed to by the UK authorities.’

The British Government was meant to respond to these allegations early last week, but the deadline has passed. But in a statement issued in London, the UK Government has said it ‘needs more time’ to explain its role in Kololo’s alleged torture, despite the expiry of its own June 9 deadline.

“Lawyers for the Home Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Metropolitan Police exceeded their deadline to respond to pre-action letters from legal charity Reprieve and law firm Leigh Day,” a statement released Thursday reads in part.

“The letters relate to their involvement in the death sentence handed to Ali Babitu Kololo, a 35-year-old father of two from a village in Lamu, Kenya.” A letter sent to the Metropolitan Police boss, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and seen by The Standard on Sunday argues “the support provided by the British authorities to the prosecution in Mr Kololo’s case was unlawful...The unfairness is particularly acute in a context where it entails a real risk to an individual’s life, as it did in the present case.” The murder and kidnapping of the couple in 2011 brought the Tourism Industry to its knees and forced the US and European Union to issue travel advisories at the Coast.

The magistrate rejected Kololo’s defence that he was forced by the abductors to lead them to the Kiwayu Safari Lodge where the crime took place. The magistrate said Kololo knew the scene of the crime well and other hotel workers positively identified him soon after his arrest.

“There is strong evidence Mr Kololo is innocent of this crime. The fact the British Government supported his unfair trial and sentencing to death is alarming enough – but the Government’s failure to respond to questions in a timely manner suggests a dangerous reluctance to be held accountable for its actions, all while Ali Kololo languishes on death row,” Maya Foa, Head of Reprieve’s death penalty team, said.