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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Monday, September 12, 2011

Pirates kill husband - kidnap wife


Kidnap: Mrs Tebbutt was reportedly put in a pirates' motorboat which then sped off in the direction of Somalia (file picture)

Somali pirates to blame . . . Civilized nations quiver in fear to do anything about anything.


Pirates have murdered a British tourist and kidnapped his wife from an exclusive Kenyan resort.

David and Judith Tebbutt were attacked at night by a gang carrying guns within hours of arriving in a beach cottage close to the border with lawless Somalia.

Armed bandits arrived at the private resort by speedboat at midnight on Saturday, stormed into the couple’s secluded hut, which had just a piece of cloth as the door, and demanded all their money, says the UK Daily Mail.

The attackers broke into the Tebbutt's accommodation overnight on Saturday at the Kiwayu Safari Village resort (pictured) about 30 miles north of Lamu
The attackers broke into the Tebbutt's accommodation overnight on Saturday at the Kiwayu Safari Village resort (pictured) about 30 miles north of Lamu

It is thought Mr Tebbutt, 58, who is finance director of publishers Faber and Faber, tried to stop the gang but he died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

The pirates then forced Mrs Tebbutt, 56, into the motorboat and locals reported that they sped off north in the direction of Somalia.

Despite helicopters, speed boats and a spotter plane deployed in the search, no sightings of her have been reported.

Last night, there were suggestions Mrs Tebbutt had been taken by an Islamist group Harakat al-Shabab al Mujahideen, an extremist group based in Somalia, The Times said.

The couple’s family were too upset to talk last night as they waited anxiously for further news.

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If Somali pirates are to blame, it would be the first time they had moved on to land to capture western hostages in what, at sea, has become a lucrative multi-million pound business in  ransom demands.

All the other hostages – including British  couple Paul and Rachel Chandler – have been taken during raids on ships and yachts in the Indian Ocean.

‘The gunmen gained entry very easily because only a piece of cloth was used in the place of the door at their cottage. They may contact us demanding a ransom. Maybe they are from Somalia but we cannot be certain.’

The couple are believed to have travelled to the Kenyan coast for the second part of a two-leg trip which had earlier seen them enjoy a safari in the Masai Mara game reserve.

A local hotel owner said: ‘The attackers were a gang of armed Somali men who broke into the resort and killed the man. They then took the woman. We don’t know where she is.’

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