A former British Army officer murdered by an armed gang at his home in Kenya was a “loyal and devoted friend”.
Lieutenant Colonel David Parkinson, 58, was killed with a machete when the gang broke into his house in the early hours of Sunday morning.
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 couple were targeted at their Lolldaiga Hills cattle ranch in the town of Nanyuki in central Kenya.
Before moving to the ranch, Lt Col Parkinson, who received an OBE in 1998, served with the Parachute Regiment from 1973 to 2003.
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”.
Mr Bucknall said he last saw his friend four weeks ago. Police said the armed robbers stole a laptop, phone and some ornaments.
Local 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.