Maasai warriors protest at killing

Hundreds of Maasai warriors, women and children marched today, briefly blocking a main road leading to a game reserve popular among tourists, to press for the re-arrest and prosecution of a prominent Kenyan accused of killing of a Maasai game park warden.

But they backed down from an earlier threat to invade the ranch run by Thomas Patrick Gilbert Cholmondeley, whose grandfather Lord Delamare was one of the first white settlers in Kenya. The Maasai warned, however, that they would stage a sit-in at the ranch if authorities fail to re-arrest Cholmondeley by Tuesday.

Earlier this week, a High Court judge dropped murder charges against Cholmondeley after Attorney General Amos Wako said there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute him for the April 19 killing of a warden investigating poaching on the ranch. The judge has ordered an inquest into the killing.

"We will not rest until that Cholmondeley is arrested. There is overwhelming evidence that he killed the ranger," said Robinson Torome, spokesman for the family of the dead warden.

"We are giving the government until Tuesday next week to arrest Delamare's grandson. We know there was an aspect of corruption which led to his release," Torome said.

Wako was not immediately available for comment.

Speaking in the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa yesterday, Wako defended his decision to release Cholmondeley, saying his actions are guided by the law - and not by "popular demands."

The comments, however, did not appease more than 1,000 Maasai who demonstrated, carrying spears, clubs, long knives and placard, including one that read: "Stop Selective Application of Justice."

Police, in riot gear, were stationed at a discreet distance from the protesters.

The demonstrators blockaded the main roads in Narok leading to one of Kenya's main game reserves, the Maasai Mara, to highlight their demand for justice. Riot police did not intervene during the blockade that lasted for at least 30 minutes.

Nakuru District Police Chief Joshua Keyum said the force has stepped up security at the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and other areas frequented by tourists in an effort to ensure that tourism is not affected by the protests.

Last month, a Maasai tribal leader accused Cholmondeley's family of oppressing his people for generations. The Maasai claim that land occupied by Kenya's white settlers and their families was stolen from them in 1904, soon after Britain colonised the country.

Kenya gained independence in 1963, but the Maasai say that successive governments have done nothing to address their grievances. Last year they launched a campaign to reclaim their land using peaceful, legal means.