Gang kills British ex-colonel in Kenya robbery

Lieutenant Colonel David Parkinson, 58, was killed with a machete when the gang, who were also carrying a gun, broke into his house in the early hours of Sunday, the Daily Telegraph said.

His wife, Sonja, managed to 
flee the attack and lock herself in a storeroom until the gang had 
left, only to return and find her husband dead, the newspaper said.

The couple were targeted at their Lolldaiga Hills cattle ranch in the town of Nanyuki in Laikipia county in central Kenya.

Before moving to the ranch, Lt Col Parkinson, who received an OBE in 1998, served with the Parachute Regiment for 30 years, from 1973 to 2003, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He spent five years as deputy director at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, a nearby game reserve, and had been responsible for the management and development of Lolldaiga Hills, a 49,000-acre ranch and conservancy in northern Kenya, since January, his profile said.

He was also a director for the eastern unit of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, a conservation organisation, it said.

Harry Bucknall, who served in the Army with Lt Col Parkinson, said he was “devastated” by the death of “a great friend” and “very special person indeed”.

He said: “I served in the Army with David – he in the Parachute Regiment and I in the Coldstream Guards. He was a very special person, who I loved like a brother, and Sonja a wonderful ray of light.

“Good people who loved Kenya and did so much for the locals. They didn’t deserve this.”

Mr Bucknall, from Blandford Forum, Dorset, left a tribute to his friend on his Twitter account and on Facebook, describing Lt Col Parkinson’s death as cruel and unjust.

It said: “Devastated by the dreadful news of the murder of David Parkinson. My thoughts and prayers are with you and the girls Sonja Parkinson. Rest in peace my dear and good friend.”

Mr Bucknall, who is now a writer and author, said he last saw his friend four weeks ago.

He said: “He was the best; a loyal and devoted friend. We had so many great times together.

“I saw him and Sonja for lunch when he was back in the UK just four weeks ago. We had such fun as always.”

The Duke of Cambridge spent part of his gap year at the Lewa wildlife reserve, before returning with Kate Middleton in 2005, and again in 2010 where he proposed to her, the Telegraph said.

A spokesman for William said he was saddened to learn of the death of Lt Col Parkinson, whom he had met at the reserve.

Police reportedly said the armed robbers stole a laptop, phone and some ornaments.

Llocal police chief Marius Tum told reporters: “The wife – who had been tied up – managed to escape into a strongroom, only to return to find that her husband had been fatally wounded in some kind of scuffle.”

He said a post-mortem examination would be carried out to determine the cause of death.

A suspect was arrested from a nearby village following a police search with sniffer dogs, local media said.

The Foreign Office confirmed the death of Lt Col Parkinson.

“We are aware of his death and we stand ready to provide consular assistance to his family at this sad time,” a spokesman said.