'No drugs' in body of British aristocrat who died in Kenyan police custody

A British aristocrat who died after being arrested by Kenyan police did not have any drugs in his system, according to a forensic scientist, contradicted police claims that Alexander Monson died of an overdose. Monson, 28, died on May 19 2012 hours after being arrested in the coastal resort of Diani for smoking cannabis and possessing other drugs.

His family believe the son of the 12th Baron Monson died from a head injury inflicted by Sergeant Naftali Chege, the policeman who arrested the former Marlborough College pupil. An initial post-mortem examination concluded that he died from a head injury consistent with being hit by the butt of a gun, and had also suffered injuries to his groin and left arm. Mr Chege denies the allegations.

 On Thursday at the inquest in Mombasa, John Njenga, a government forensic analyst, said: “When the samples of stomach, kidney and liver were brought to me for forensic analysis in the government laboratory, police asked me to specifically find out if there was any drug from the three samples. “Since there is no trace of any drug in the sample I examined, I am 100 per cent sure Alexander did not swallow or take any of these drugs the police brought to the laboratory.

 He added that he had studied the samples six days after Monson's death. A later pathologist's report said there were traces of drugs in Mr Monson's body. However, a doctor told the court last year they wouldn't have been enough to kill him. Mr Chege claimed that at the time of his arrest Monson was carrying ketamine, four tablets of a drug similar to diazepam, and one tablet of tadalafila, which is used to treat erectile dysfunction and high blood pressure, as well as cannabis.

Hilary Monson, who fought for the inquest into her son's death after finding him unconscious and handcuffed to a hospital bed an hour before he died, said: “I am confident the investigation, which was carried out by Independent Police Oversight Authority, will yield positive results. “I believe this time round there is enough evidence to link the suspected killers of my son. I think the pathologist is very clear on the cause of the death of my son. He died after being hit by a blunt object on the head."