Daily Times

A Kenyan court on Monday sentenced four police officers to prison for manslaughter over the death of the son of a British aristocrat whose family has been fighting for justice for nine years. Alexander Monson was found dead in a police cell in the Indian Ocean beach resort of Diani in May 2012 after being arrested for allegedly smoking cannabis, known locally as bhang, outside a bar. His family maintained that Monson, the 28-year-old son of Baron Monson, was beaten to death in a jail cell while police claimed he died of a drug overdose. On Monday, judge Eric Ogola ruled that the four officers were guilty of manslaughter after Monson was “tortured” and sentenced them to terms of between nine and 15 years. “The court has established that he was tortured within the police compound before he was returned to the cell at around 5 am,” Ogola said, delivering the verdict at the High Court in the coastal city of Mombasa. The judge said the officers were aware of Monson’s condition but failed to take him to hospital in time for treatment. The high-profile case shone a spotlight on police brutality in the East African county where such cases are rife.