Thomas Cholmondeley
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Thomas Patrick Gilbert Cholmondeley (born 19 January 1968) is a Kenyan farmer of British ancestry. He is most famous for his controversial release from a murder charge.
Cholmondeley shot Kenya Wildlife Service game warden Samson ole Sisina on 19 April 2005 at his ranch in Gilgil division, Nakuru District. Cholmondeley admitted the shooting, but insisted it was self-defense. The Attorney General Amos Wako discontinued the case through emission of a nolle prosequi. This decision was widely criticized by Kenyan media and public, with many claiming he walked free due to the influence of class and position, although Kenyan whites have little political power or influence any longer, although some have retained their wealth and lands.
On 10 May 2006 he was taken again into custody for the killing of a stonemason and accused poacher, Robert Njoya Mbugua, who had trespassed on his private land at Soysambu Farm, and whom Cholmondeley assumed was a thief.
He again has admitted the shooting, but claimed it was in self-defense. He has been held at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison since the incident and during the ongoing court proceedings. The trial began 25 September.
Thomas P. G. Cholmondeley was educated at Eton College. His family is one of the largest landowners in Kenya. Thomas Cholmondeley is a great-grandson to the 3rd Baron Delamere, a pioneering settler in Kenya. He is the only son and heir of Hugh George Cholmondeley, 5th Baron Delamere (b. 1934) and the former Anne Renison.
