http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5382128.stm
Poacher killing was 'deliberate'
A UK aristocrat deliberately shot and killed a black Kenyan man poaching on his family's 100,000-acre estate, prosecutors have told a Nairobi court.

Thomas Cholmondeley, 38, great-grandson of one of Kenya's first white settlers, Lord Delamere, denies the murder of 37-year-old stonemason Robert Njoya.

Prosecution witness Peter Gichuhi was among poachers accompanying Mr Njoya.

But on Tuesday he admitted he had lied under oath to the court when he said he had not been carrying a spear.

Mr Cholmondeley's lawyer Fred Ojiambo told the court there had been five poachers - two more than the prosecution alleges - well armed with machetes and spears.

Mr Gichuhi told the court he had been part of a gang that had raided the estate at least twice every week to poach from the teeming wildlife.

"We knew it was not lawful... we were looking for something to eat," he added.

It is the second murder charge divorced father-of-two Mr Cholmondeley has faced.

Last year, he admitted shooting Maasai ranger Samson Ole Sisina, but said he acted in self-defence mistaking the warden for an armed robber.

That case highlighted the security fears of landowners and the resentment of the local Maasai population in the Rift Valley region.

Correspondents say this case is likely to spark more controversy in the area, where resentment still rankles with the Maasai over the dropping of the last case.

BBC correspondent Adam Mynott added: "There is long-standing resentment simmering below the surface about how Kenya's white settlers, like the Delameres, acquired their land a century ago.

Poor Kenyans look at the rolling acres under the ownership of 'wazungu' [white settlers] and they cry foul
BBC correspondent Adam Mynott

"Many of the descendants of the early settlers who live on huge tracts of Kenyan land have established good relations with their neighbours.

"Many took up Kenyan citizenship years ago.

"But at the same time poor Kenyans look at the rolling acres under the ownership of 'wazungu' [white settlers] and they cry foul.

"Kenyan politicians are not reluctant to use this ill-feeling for political ends.

"Attacking the way the white settlers 'seized' land always goes down well with a poor black Kenyan audience."

Old Etonian Mr Cholmondeley could face the death penalty if convicted.