Police probe death of BBC staffer

Police are investigating the death of BBC staffer Kate Mitchell whose body was found lying in her hotel room in Nairobi on Friday.

Preliminary investigations show that the staffer was strangled by a man she was seen with earlier at the hotel in Kileleshwa.

The man died after he jumped from the eighth floor of their room.

He is said to have been trying to escape from the crime scene.

The two are reported to have been embroiled in an argument that turned physical.

Officials said Mitchell pressed the alarm bell when the altercation worsened but was strangled before she could get help.

Nairobi regional commander Augustine Nthumbi said Mitchell’s door was locked from inside when detectives arrived.

They found Mitchell lying dead inside the room and noticed some broken glass on the floor. Upon checking through the window, the detectives saw a man’s body on the ground.

He was later identified as the man she had been seen with earlier.

“The suspected culprit had jumped off the eighth floor of the hotel through the room’s window after sensing that the hotel security might be after him,” Nthumbi said.

The motive of the killing is yet to be known.

The body was moved to the mortuary where an autopsy is planned. The staffer who had returned to the country was attached to BBC Media Action's office in Ethiopia.

“We are providing support to the family of a British national who has died in Kenya and we’re in touch with the Kenyan authorities. Our thoughts and with their family at this difficult time,” the British High Commissioner said.

The office in Addis Ababa tells true stories on unsafe and illegal migration, health and media development.

Internal communication to BBC staff in Nairobi says the circumstances of her death are not very clear at the moment.

“We are working with the UK High Commission and the police in Nairobi. There is no indication that her death is connected to her work or the BBC,” the memo said in part.

Mitchell lead the media action which is BBC’s international development charity.

The charity worked alongside other media organisations to promote rights and reduce poverty around the world.

Edited by Kiilu Damaris