Four Charged In Kenya Filmmaker Killing

Kenya has charged four men with attempted robbery during an incident in which a British film maker was shot and killed.

Court documents state that the four men -- David Chege, Joseph Ndung'u, Philip Mutuku and Allan Githeji -- attempted to rob Joan Root of four million Kenya shillings, about £31,000, while armed with an Ak-47 rifle.

"Immediately after the attempted robbery, they shot dead the said Joan Root," read the charge sheet.

The men pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out at the magistrates' court in Naivasha, 60 miles north of the capital Nairobi. Police sources said there was not enough evidence to charge the four with murder.The 69-year-old Root was shot at point-blank range as she lay in her bed last month, police said at the time.

Root and her ex-husband Alan made a number of films celebrating African wildlife, notably the 1976 film Balloon Safari.

Naivasha magistrate Jennifer Thuita adjourned the case until May 11.