Venezuelan ambassador killed in Nairobi

By Cyrus Ombati

A top Venezuelan diplomat in Kenya’s capital Nairobi has been killed and body recovered in a locked house in Runda estate.

Nairobi Provincial Police boss Anthony Kibuchi confirmed the bizarre incident in which the envoy identified as Ms Olga Fonseca, 57, who at the time of her death  was the acting  ambassador.

She reported to Nairobi for duty on July 15 in the capacity of acting ambasador to replace a colleague who was implicated in sexual harassment.

“Police can confirm that the diplomat was strangled to death this morning and the body is still lying at the house as we investigate circumstances leading to the death.” Kibuchi said.

Kibuchi said two staff were being questioned in connection with the murder.

A battery of local and international journalists arrived and camped outside the gate of the residence as police summoned pathologists and called for forensic and postmortem  to help establish the casue of the death.

Crestfallen staff saddened by the news of the death of their boss similarly arrived in droves but were kept at bay as investigators tried to piece together evidence.

Earlier Kibuchi said  the body was discovered in her residence which was locked and it appeared she was strangled early in the morning of Friday.

Her death comes in the wake of claims that she had sacked a section of staff at the Nairobi embassy last week.

The Venezuelan embassy has been in the news after the former ambassador Gerardo Carrillo da Silva was implicated in a sexual harassment claim before he left the country in a huff in May.

Staff at the Venezuela embassy in Nairobi had formally filed complaints with the Diplomatic Police Unit over alleged sexual impropriety by ambassador Gerarro da Silva.

 At least three junior employees working at da Silva's home in Runda have complained over what they termed as sexual harassment. They recorded police statements last month accusing the diplomat of constantly harassing them.