Justice is served in black and white and in Kenya
May 14, 2009
Written by kenyanobserver, in COMMENTARY, Featured
Tom Cholmondeley
So, Tom Cholmondeley, a privileged white aristocrat and heir to the Delamare fortune in Kenya (the Delamare name in Kenya is not unlike the Rockefeller name in the United States – prominent family, old money and all the goodies that go with it) has had his day in court for killing two poor Kenyans.
Sentence: Judge Muga Apondi has sentenced him to eight months in jail.
You know. I find this very interesting. Kenyans generally love white people. Infact, some even adore white people – nothing wrong with that. Some even want to be thought of as “white” and any insinuation that simply draws references to appearing or behaving “white” is always seen as a complement. And even if they do not adore white people, Kenyans generally welcome everyone into their country with open arms, regardless of race or ethnicity.
But we have a younger generation of Kenyans who have studied in other countries, perhaps have even been caught in legal systems of other countries and have returned back home with all their experiences – both good and bad. They have now become of age. They are seeing how justice is served in their own country and they do not like it.
Even for the majority of Kenyans who may not have studied abroad, world news is only six minutes away from the moment it’s published online. News travels fast and people see what is happening around the world. Plus they facebook, they blog, they SMS. They know what happens to a fellow Kenyan in a similar situation in another country.
People in Kenya have sometimes asked me about incidents that I thought were local to Dallas because they follow the news online. And cases like Cholmondeley’s is the kind focus the white community in Kenya does not need for it might expose just how far-removed their world is from the rest of ordinary Kenyans.
Everyone is making comparisons. And it is leaving a bad taste in their mouths. There is obviously a miscarriage of justice in this case. Just substitute Cholmondeley’s case with that of an ordinary Kenyan and the contrast and outrage is quite clear.
Tony Blair may have come to Kenya to “fix” Tom Cholmondeley’s “situation” but is anyone paying attention to the sentiments of the majority?
I am plugged in to the Kenyan community for obvious reasons and it is quite surprising to read the sentiments going around. While the Kenyan justice system is maintaining it’s status quo by taking care of a rich white man, they are slowly sowing the seeds of hatred in the ordinary mwananchi towards the white man or woman.
While mob justice is a common occurrence in Kenya, I have never seen it administered on a white person in Kenya. In the recent violence after the 2007 elections in which almost 2,000 Kenyans lost their lives, not a single white person was ever in harm’s way save for some opportunistic crooks looking for a quick grab here and there.
I hope it stays that way. I really do.
In a country where the gap between the rich and the poor is ever widening coupled with the callousness with which Mr. Cholmondeley is reported to have acted during the incident, it does not take a stretch of the imagination where the young, unemployed youth may focus their anger next. The white community has been extremely careful in their interactions with indigenous Africans and in fact it is very rare to see a white person embroiled in a murder such as this in Kenya.
But stories float around. Stereotypes exist under the radar. Whites seem to be favored everywhere they go around the country. Maybe this is a hang up from colonialism or some kind of inferiority complex, I don’t know. Whatever it is, Tom Cholmondeley, with assistance from the government has reinforced this stereotype that the white man is somehow “untouchable”.
Not to be alarmist, there are sentiments out there among ordinary people who feel that justice has not been carried out through the proper channels and perhaps Cholmondeley should have suffered the fate many ordinary criminal Kenyans face – mob justice. Read the comments here carefully. They may or may not stay there long. There are other more graphic examples that I am not going to link here.
In all my years as a Kenyan, I have seen injustice and I have seen white people get away with it in the past (remember the US Navy sailor Frank Sundstrom who brutally murdered Monica Njeri in Mombasa in 1980 and got away with it? I was a kid but I remember that case very well), but I have never heard strong sentiments such as I’m hearing in this case.
The Kenyan government needs to be careful about what kind of precedent it is setting up. The younger post-colonial generation is much different from the older generation who swallowed a lot and moved on. The government needs to administer justice equally and it has failed to do that in this case. Cholmondeley may have won his day in court but I’m not sure if the Kenyan judicial system has scored a hit on this one.
Take a closer look into Tom Cholmondeley’s Kenya. This is the Kenya of the White, privileged, anything-goes, land-owning aristocrats who say they “love” Kenya but send their kids to English and South African prep schools at the earliest opportunity, a Kenya where living your fantasy is nothing but a whim; A Kenya that many ordinary Kenyans would not recognise or have no idea exists right in their backyard:
Two in the Bush – New York Times
Photo source: Reuters
I wonder what is justice, and when it is been applied, and who it favours?
if Cholmondeley was black could he have the same justice and judgement on him, This is a fight btw the poor and the rich, the white and black,
what made the judge reduce from life sentence to eight months, was he bribed beco this Cholmondeley casn afford to pay even pay the government, then matter be brought underground
God is the right witness and professional judge than all
Are you surprised? That is the value we black people have placed on ourselves. Why should such things happen if we valued ourselves and our lives? You are right. It is mental slavery which I think is worse than physical enslavement because the enslaved (as the African-Americans did in the U.S.) realize it and fight it. With mental slavery, the poor soul goes about in ignorant bliss looking upon the white man as some sort of deity and acting accordingly as a minion – even the honorable judge.
I ask myself the same question. What sentence do you think awaits the Somali pirate in USA. I can assure you with 100% accuracy it will be life and no discussion. Now what do you think it would be if the pirates were white? By now all efforts and money would be directed at them. Remember the Libyan case where white nurses were accused of infecting children with HIV/AIDS? Now imagine if it were the Libyan nurses in some western hospital. For Kenyans living in Europe you know that if you are arrested the Kenyan embassy cannot help you at all. Well first they will not be listened to and there will be no question of serving your sentence in a kenyan jail. Remember the French guys who tried to abduct Chadian children claiming they were from Darfur? Well where are they now? But one day this will change for sure.
I wonder what we call justice in kenya.There is no justice for the poor.Take for example a murderer is jailed for fourteen months after prooved guilty of commiting murder.
Thats why we need to attract international attention by taking some cases to the hague.
Let them face the real real justice there!
It must be hard, for the author of this atrticle and the individuals who have left comments, to always carry that chip on your shoulder. Such a narrow view of the situation in Kenya. I have seen nothing in these posts about the MPs in Kenya who, regardless of their fellow mwananchi, steal money at an alarming rate. What have they done for Kenya? The gap between the rich and the poor, you say it is the gap between the black and the white, i say no, it is now between the black and the black. The rich blacks get richer and the poor blacks get poorer. The whites who have nothing to do with the state of the ordinary Kenyans are targeted because of the colonial legacy. When will the Kenyan government stop blammming it’s misfortunes on the British? The judge was not bribed, a proper investigation would have proven that the evidence against Tom was insufficient. So please, find anoter scapegoat.
[BEGIN QUOTE]I have seen nothing in these posts about the MPs in Kenya who, regardless of their fellow mwananchi, steal money at an alarming rate.[END QUOTE]
You must not have searched this blog very well.
[BEGIN QUOTE]The whites who have nothing to do with the state of the ordinary Kenyans are targeted because of the colonial legacy.[END QUOTE]
Kenyans have no one to blame but themselves for most of their problems, but to say that the whites have “nothing” to do with the current state of Kenya is a stretch. I’m not sure if you are serious when you made that statement or just want to cause a stir and see the blacks jump up and down like popcorn with rage.
I don’t know what your intentions were with your comments, but this story was a clear miscarriage of justice and white privilege played a big part in it.
What of the compensation for the young wife? I see from the recently reported tv program that she still awaits for the promised care more than a year later. The Delamare family made such meaningless promises yet live such high standards in comparison to the young family left without its breadwinner. Remember this promise of care/compensation was made by the Delamare in order to reduce his sentence well he got his light sentence but what of the family, what a life sentence they must now serve?
Shame on all of those neighboring landowners staying in Kenya but more importantly SHAME on the DELAMARES and their ilk.
add note: I believe after this program “last white man in Africa” on bbc4 this site will receive many more letters asking alot more questions regarding the trail and its outcome from the british public here within the UK.
I am a semi poor mazungu married to kikuyu. I do not know the facts surrounding this case so I can only guess. Was this man a murdering preditor or was he defending himself. That is the question. I do know the African judicial system is very corrupt. Simple as that. Don’t blame all us white people who have been trully helping you…….. Some of us really do care and love your world and ours. Personally i think this man is exploiting Kenya and Africa and could care less about you…… Just as your rich native leaders who run your country’s…..
Jack, I totally agree with you and I hope I’m not coming across as saying that all white people take advantage of African people.
Hi everyone. I am Kenyan. This whole case is about the failed judicial system in Kenya. This is not about the whites and the black kenyans. Actually this case if you do more research some of the white people in kenya were also shocked about the sentencing. Whatever, now he is free. Lets all live our lives in peace. Kenya has a good reputation of no racism and this will not start it. Is it fair that he only got 8 months? Is it fair that someone else steals chicken and gets 2yrs? No way. White & black people have nothing to with it, we all know our governments and authorities are to blame.