The officers covered up the torture and killing of Alexander Monson, a judge in Mombasa rules.
Image source, Monson family
A Kenyan court has jailed four police officers for the manslaughter of British aristocrat Alexander Monson, who died in custody after being arrested in Mombasa in 2012.
Judge Eric Ogola ruled that Monson was brutally tortured and had cannabis planted on him after he died.
He said the officers had covered up what happened to the 28-year-old.
Monson was the son of Lord Nicholas Monson and heir to the family estate in Lincolnshire.
He had moved to Kenya in 2008 to live with his mother.
The four officers were given jail terms of between nine and 15 years but between five and six years were suspended in each case.
Police arrested him for allegedly smoking cannabis in the Diani beach resort in May 2012.
The police initially said Monson had died of a drugs overdose but an inquest in June 2018 found he had died from a head injury.
Toxicology reports showed he had no drugs in his system at the time.
“The drugs were planted on the deceased after his death as a cover up,” said Judge Ogola, adding that Monson had been in good health prior to his arrival at the station.
He added that those who brutally tortured Monson were known to the four policemen: Naftali Chege, Charles Wangombe Munyiri, Baraka Bulima and John Pamba.
He said the court had not been able to find out who they were because of “the code of silence in the police force.”
“I am satisfied that the death of the deceased was caused through unlawful omission on the part of the accused persons for failing to seek medical care for the deceased in good time,”Judge Ogola ruled.
His father, who arrived in Kenya over the weekend, his mother, and several family members were in court for the ruling.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.