British tycoon poisoned with pesticide, pathologist tells inquest

A British tycoon who died under mysterious circumstances in Mombasa was poisoned with a pesticide, an inquest at a Mombasa court on Monday heard.

Former government pathologist Moses Njue told the court that a post-mortem report showed that Harry Veevers was poisoned with a pesticide known as cyhalothrin.

He told an inquest into the Briton's death in Mombasa that the analysis of the wet soil samples and body tissues from the position of the stomach was found to contain the chemical, hence drawing the conclusion that the cause of death was as a result of poisoning.

“The presence of the chemical in the stomach area means it had been ingested while the deceased was alive, obviously he was poisoned,” he told Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti.

Mr Veevers died under mysterious circumstances at his Nyali bungalow on February 14, 2013, where he was living with his second wife Azra Parvenu Deen and his two daughters, Alexandra Azra Veevers and Helen Azra Veevers.

He was then buried at a Muslim cemetery in Mombasa three days after his death, but his body was exhumed a year later when his sons, Richard John Veevers and Philip Veevers demanded to know the circumstances surrounding his death.

The Briton who had two wives, had divorced his first wife in 1991, liquidated his assets in the UK and relocated to settle in Kenya, where he bought property.

His suspicious death led his two sons to believe there was a conspiracy between his stepsisters and stepmother to kill their father, leading to an inquest into his death.

The court was told the soil samples had been taken from the grave after the body of the deceased was exhumed for a post-mortem.

The specimen taken comprised wet soil sample at the position of the stomach inside the grave and the soil on top of the grave.

During the analysis of the specimen, which also included soft body tissues and teeth, Dr Njue said the chemical was not noticed on the dry soil.

“There is no way you can explain the presence of pesticide six feet down the ground at the position of the stomach unless it was ingested, what is more interesting , a similar test on the top soil produced a negative result ,” he said.

Dr Njue dismissed the possibility that the chemical might have been as a result of the preservative chemical administered on the body of the deceased while at the Pandya memorial mortuary, where he lied for three days before burial.

“We would have found body tissues intact if it had been injected with formalin, it is also false to say that he might have consumed vegetable sprayed with the chemical since the washing and exposure to light removes the chemical completely,” he said.

Mr Richard told the court that his father received death threats from his step mother before he died.

His father had on several occasions confided in him on the death threats from his stepmother when he mentioned that he wanted to marry a Kenyan woman.

“My father visited me in my home and told me that my stepmother had threatened to kill him after he revealed to her that he had a girlfriend in Kenya and had an intention to marry her,” he said.

The witness, however, told the court that he did not advise his father to report the matter to the police, saying he took it as “a normal joke”.

He said before his father mentioned his newfound partner in Kenya, their families lived happily at the family estate in the UK.

“I dismissed death threats on his life as normal rantings; little did I know that it would eventually lead to his death,” he added

He also questioned why his step-family hurriedly buried their father as a Muslim though he was a staunch Christian.

Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Alexander Muteti who guided the inquest asked the court to adjourn the matter to Tuesday.