The Daily Clarity

Violent murder of British couple in Mombassa – an isolated case?

The state of law and order in some African countries is often a lead indicator of social and political stability. We have seen several countries slide from extended periods of stability into a criminal and political morass. We have seen others attempting to desperately recover from lawlessness and disorder to strive towards a functional social society such as Uganda.

Kenya has been in danger for quite a while. We have had periods of great hope such as in the early 2000’s and then the eruptions of violence after the last election. There have been threats of fundamentalism among the Muslim youth of the coastal areas in and around Mombassa. The increasing savagery of crimes of violence in Kenya is of grave concern. If the nation is perceived as too dangerous for free independent travel then the Kenyan economy could be a decline in tourists. Let us hope the savage robbery and torture of two British nationals in Mombassa is a terrible anomaly and not part of a broader trend of decline in civil governance.

A retired British couple have been murdered in Kenya by robbers who broke into their holiday home.

Tony Joel, 70, was stabbed 17 times and sustained severe head wounds. His wife, Rita, 67, was stabbed 11 times. Police believe that they may have been tortured for information about their valuables.

The couple, from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, were attacked on October 15, soon after arriving at their home in a village close to Mombasa on the Indian Ocean coast. Their bodies were discovered the following day.

Jon Casey, 28, who lived next door to the couple in Essex, said that they loved Africa and had been visiting the same spot for about 20 years.

“They were not a well-off couple,” he said, “but in Kenya theirs was the only house \ with electricity.

“They helped fund a well in the village. They were Westerners, so I suppose they were a target.”

Mr Casey said the couple’s house had also been raided when they visited Kenya last year. “I don’t know why someone would have to be so violent,” he said. “They were a friendly, outgoing, kind couple, no threat to anyone. If you needed anything they would give it to you. Tony did some volunteer work locally.”

British couple found stabbed to death in Kenyan home – Times Online