Blood gemstones of Tsavo: How famous British miner met his death

• Struggle for control of tsavorite mining operation may have led to murder

According to sources who cannot be named because they do not have the authority to comment on ongoing investigations, about six weeks ago six men who were found mining in one of the Bridges Exploration areas were arrested and taken to Voi police station.

The officer in charge of that operation was reportedly ordered by his superiors not to detain the six men but to release them on cash bail and report to his superior in Mombasa for disciplinary action for an undocumented mistake.

The Sunday Nation has learnt from multiple interviews with officials familiar with the investigations that the next day, while the officer awaited his discipline in Mombasa, the six men were released and their case dropped.

A few days later, some of the illegal miners accosted two employees of Bridges Exploration on a trespass charge and took them to Wundanyi police post.

Bruce Bridges said that before the employees were taken to Wundanyi, they were given a message to pass on to Mr Bridges.

“They said they were coming for my father’s head,” he said.

The court date for that trespass case had been set for August 10, the day Campbell Bridges was speared to death.

Mr Mwatela, the area MP, said Campbell Bridges did not get on well with the local people. “Mr Bridges and his entourage beat up the people he had found at the mine.

This was his nature since he had little regard for black people,” the MP said. Current area DC Njenga Miiri also said Campbell Bridges had been known to harass people living around the mines.

After the confrontation, the two Bridges went to Wundanyi to report the trespass to the area district commissioner. But their journey was cut short.

Campbell Brigdes, his son and their security officer were interrupted by a pick-up truck carrying several men with crude weapons that drove onto the road from an adjoining sisal plantation and blocked their truck.

“They said they would mine by force and that next time they would kill us,” Bruce Bridges said.

The Bridges party reported the death threats to the authorities but were rebuffed.

“We were referred to the deputy OCS,” Bruce Bridges said. “We met him and asked whether it was possible for him to provide security for us or at least investigate the claims.” He said the deputy OCS refused.

On August 10, the day of the court case, the younger Bridges said he and his father decided to brief the DC on what had transpired while he was away.