FOUR villagers have been found guilty of murdering the Scottish geologist Campbell Bridges in front of his son and workers as he drove to inspect mines he suspected had been constructed illegally on his land.

The High Court in Mombassa, Kenya, heard that Mr Bridges was set upon by a mob wielding knives and clubs and was stabbed in the chest in a "fast and lethal strike" on a road near the town of Voi in southern Kenya.

Mohamed Dadi, Alfred Njuruka, Samuel Mwachala and James Chacha were among a group of seven who were arrested for the attack in 2009, and have now been found guilty of the murder. Three others were acquitted.

A fifth man, named as a Mr Salat, who is believed to have struck the fatal blow, remains at remains at large.

Justice Maureen Odero found the group guilty of murdering Campbell Bridges because of a long standing dispute between the two warring parties over mining rights of gemstones and precious minerals at Mwasui and Mukuki Ranches in Mwatate.

Campbell Bridges, who worked for the Central Mining and Investment Corporation with many interests in Africa, was a colourful figure in the world of gem mining.

Born in London to a Scottish mother and English father, he was credited with discovering the dark green gemstone Tsavorite in the 1960s on the nearby border with Tanzania.

According to gem world folklore, he was walking in the countryside when a buffalo charged him and to save his life he leaped into a gully - where he noticed a gleam of green in a rocky outcrop.

His Tanzanian mines were nationalised in the 1970s, and he moved his operations to Kenya where he studied geological records and located Tsavorite again.

Initially he lived in a tree house, and claimed to have set a python to watch over the first gems he found. He kept a pair of leopards instead of guard dogs. He was also a special consultant to the famous New York jewellers Tiffany & Co.

The geologist was travelling to inspect his mines in rural Kenya with his son and a party of workers when they came to a roadblock and were forced to stop.

At that point a gang who had been hiding in raised ground at the side of the road attacked the vehicle and there was a struggle between the two parties.

Mr Bridges' son Bruce said during the trial that the gang had ran down the slop "like ants" to surround his father.

He said: "Salat is the one who stabbed the deceased. I have known Salat since 2006. Salat ran with a big knife and stabbed my father under the left arm. It was a fast and lethal strike . Then Salatt yelled 'I have finished him completely'."

The judge agreed that Salat was the one who fatally stabbed Mr Bridges, but ruled that the four accused were his accomplices and were equally responsible.

Justice Odero said: "Despite Salat having not been arrested , the fact is that in criminal law culpability does not visit only the person who committed the act in question, equal criminal culpability lies with any person who aided, abetted or were in any way other way complicit in the illegal act or omission."

She noted that the offence was committed in a broad day light and the visibility was good. She said the attackers were recognized by the witnesses because it took thirty minutes.

The men had claimed that Mr Bridges was trespassing on their land when the attack happened, but this was disregarded by Justice Odero.

The judge said even if the deceased were had entered the land illegally, the accused had no right to take the law into their hands.

She added: "This type of jungle law has no place in a civil society. The accused acted unlawfully in blocking the road and in attacking the deceased to prevent him his camp. In prosecuting this unlawful purpose an offence was committed; the deceased was murdered."

ends