Hotel worker given death sentence for kidnapping
A hotel worker has been handed the death sentence after being convicted of helping to kidnap British tourist Judith Tebbutt during an attack in Kenya in which her husband David was shot dead.
Ali Babitu Kololo, 27, was found guilty of robbery with violence and kidnapping with intent to cause murder over the brutal raid by Somali pirates in September 2011.
However, he is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison since Kenya has suspended public executions.
Kololo is the first person to be convicted over the kidnapping of Mrs Tebbutt and the death of her husband in the remote Kenyan resort of Kiwayu Safari Village.
The court heard that Kololo, who had previously worked at the resort, had led the gang of six men to a remote beach cottage where the couple was staying.
The men burst into the room, shot Mr Tebbutt, 58, dead and bundled Mrs Tebbutt into a speedboat which took her to nearby Somalia.
She spent more than six months as a hostage before being freed in March 2012, after her family allegedly paid a ransom.
Kololo admitted in court that he had helped lead the Tebbutts’ attackers to their cottage but claimed he did so under duress after he was himself abducted by the gang.
The court dismissed that claim and said it was clear he had been the sixth member of the group.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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