A murder investigation has been launched in Kenya into the death of a British woman who worked for the BBC’s international development charity.
The body of Kate Mitchell, a senior manager at BBC Media Action, was found on Friday in the capital Nairobi shortly after an emergency alarm was activated in her room. Police in Kenya said the window to her eighth-floor hotel room had been broken and the body of a man Mitchell had been with earlier was found on the ground below.
“We are investigating the circumstances surrounding these deaths,” Nairobi police chief Augustine Thumbi told reporters. “The suspected culprit jumped off the eighth floor of the hotel through the room’s window after sensing that the hotel security might be after him,” he added.
“We do not know the motive so far, and these are things the investigators are trying to put together.”
Mitchell had worked for 14 years for the charity that was formerly known as the BBC World Service Trust. Her most recent post was a senior project manager in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.
It is thought that Mitchell’s death was unconnected to her work for the organisation.
Caroline Nursey, the charity’s chief executive, said: “We are all shocked and horrified by this terrible news. Kate was a much-loved member of staff … She was well known across our whole organisation, especially by our teams in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zambia, and London.
“We send our deepest condolences to her family and her many friends around the world.”
The charity said: “Kate was positive, fun, driven and extremely talented, and her work made a huge difference to many communities, and to Media Action’s mission of using media and communication to address poverty and inequality around the world.”
Kate’s brother, Peter Mitchell, described her as “a deeply beloved daughter, sister and friend”. In a statement released on behalf of the family, he said: “Kate loved her work and was tireless in her efforts to make the world a better place. We are only beginning to realise the magnitude of her loss.”
He said the family was working with the Foreign Office and Kate’s colleagues at BBC Media Action to try to understand what happened. He appealed to press and social media users not to speculate on how she died while her death was being investigated.
The charity said it was also working with the UK government to establish what happened and was willing to help the Kenyan authorities.
BBC Media Action works to use media and communication to reduce poverty, improve health and support people in understanding their rights.
