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David Tebbutt, 58, was shot by Somali pirates in 2011. His wife was held hostage for six months. After the Yard sent officers to investigate, farmer Ali Kololo was convicted for leading the killers to the couple’s beach bungalow.
Kololo, whose death sentence was commuted to life in jail, says he is innocent. Judith Tebbutt, 67, of Bishop’s Stortford, Herts, says the wrong man was jailed over her husband’s murder.
An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) probe has concluded testimony from a now retired detective allegedly omitted evidence which may have undermined the prosecution case.
The watchdog said the officer would have had a case to answer for alleged gross misconduct had he not already left the force. Gross misconduct proceedings can see officers sacked.
The IOPC report did not name the detective but he has been identified previously as ex-Det Supt Neil Hibberd.
His lawyer said he denies any wrongdoing and “absolutely disagrees with the findings”.
The Tebbutts were on their first night at a secluded resort near Somalia. Mrs Tebbutt heard her husband struggle with an attacker before he was shot and she was dragged away at gunpoint.
Kololo was identified as a suspect before the Met arrived. He maintains he gave an incriminating statement only after torture – a claim denied by Kenya officials.
Scene footprints were made by shoes found by police which “did not fit Mr Kololo…no forensic evidence has ever been produced to link Mr Kololo to the shoes,” said justice charity Reprieve.
A Yard expert “could not specifically include or exclude” Kololo’s own shoes “as being responsible”.
The IOPC says the inconclusive verdict was not in the officer’s statement. A spokesman said the relevant legislation meant “there can be no proceedings in this case against the former officer”.
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