Kenya: CFWIJ Condemns Killing Of Bbc Worker Kate Mitchell, Demands Transparent Probe

Location: Kenya
Date: November 23, 2021

The police have launched a probe into the killing of Kate Mitchell, a worker for BBC Media Action. Kate was found dead in her hotel room in Nairobi. Police told local media they suspect Kate was killed by strangulation and the case is being investigated as a murder. As of now, the motives remain unclear and the BBC does not believe the killing is connected to her work for the international media organization.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism mourns Kate’s death. We condemn the murder and demand that the Kenyan authorities conduct an immediate and transparent probe into the journalist’s killing. 

Kate was working in BBC Media Action’s, the corporation's international charity, office in Ethiopia. Her work was centered on stories regarding insecure and illegal migration, health conditions and the development of media. 

According to the BBC, it is unlikely that Kate's murder was related to her journalistic work. The police have launched an investigation and claim to have found the suspected murderer’s body. 

Nairobi Police chief Augustine Nthumbi was cited by local media as saying that the journalist might have been strangled by a man she had been seen with earlier.

“The police were called in and found the room locked from the inside. When the officers broke the door, their preliminary findings were that the woman had been killed by strangulation,” Nthumbi told Capital News. He said that Kate might have tried to raise alarm during the struggle, prompting the suspected murderer to jump from the window and flee. "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." 

The man’s body was reportedly found on the ground floor. “On further investigation, the officers found a broken window and when they looked through it, they saw the body of an African man Mitchelle had been seen with on the ground,” Nthumbi was quoted as saying.

"Kate was a much-loved member of staff, who worked as a Senior Project Manager and had been with us for 14 years. She was well known across our whole organisation, especially by our teams in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zambia, and London. We are all shocked and horrified by this terrible news," said BBC Media Action CEO Caroline Nursey in a statement issued after Kate’s killing. "We all send deepest condolences to her family and her many friends around the world.”

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is deeply saddened at the death of Kate Mitchell. We are appalled at her killing and demand a fair and transparent probe. The impunity with which crimes against women journalists are conducted must end. We offer our deepest condolences to Kate’s colleagues, friends and family. We commend the late journalist for her commitment to her job and hope she rests in power and peace.

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

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