Nairobi - Kenyan prosecutors have dropped negligence charges against managers of Nairobi's popular Carnivore restaurant in the deaths of three party-goers in a stampede there in 2004 officials said on Friday.
"The attorney general perused the evidence and was unable to find sufficient ground to carry on with the prosecutions," the country's top prosecutor Philip Murgor said.
"Instead, he has ordered an inquest to be formed to establish where to lay the blame," he said.
The trio were killed when a large crowd rushed the restaurant's adjacent nightclub attempting to get into a concert there in December and the managers had been accused of failing to provide proper security for the show.
Nine senior managers from the restaurant's corporate owners, the Tamarind Group, and Kenya Breweries Limited, which organised the concert, had been charged with negligence in the case in February.
Officials said the state withdrew charges after determining that the police department, which investigated the matter, had been involved in providing security for the concert, a promotion for a brand of alcoholic beverage.
The Carnivore is well-known among Kenyans and visitors to the country for serving exotic meats and is also home to the popular nightclub. - Sapa-AFP