BBC charity worker from North East murdered in Nairobi hotel

Kate Mitchell, 42, originally from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, was found dead in her Nairobi hotel room in November 2021.

An inquest at Newcastle Coroner’s Court heard she suffered a head injury and was strangled.

An intruder is believed to have entered her room at the Ibis Hotel on the eighth floor, attacked her, and then either fell or jumped to his death from the window.

Ms Mitchell had worked for BBC Media Action as a project manager in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Zambia.

The charity, formerly known as the BBC World Service Trust, works in international development and promotes democratic reporting.

Coroner Karin Welsh said: "That man either fell or jumped from the eighth-floor bedroom window and he also was found deceased.

(Image: Mitchell Family / PA Wire) "That’s the totality of the information we have been able to glean from Nairobi."

A post-mortem examination in the UK confirmed that Ms Mitchell died from a head injury and pressure on the neck.

Ms Welsh concluded that she was unlawfully killed.

She expressed her condolences to Ms Mitchell’s family and addressed her brother, Pete Mitchell, saying: "I know you still have questions, I hope they are answered for you."

Mr Mitchell, 42, and his mother have still not received his sister’s personal effects, including her laptop.

After the hearing, Mr Mitchell told reporters that his family was pushing the Kenyan police to reveal more.

They have instructed a lawyer to ask for an inquest in Nairobi which could explain more about of her murder.

Mr Mitchell said: "The Kenyan police have just stone-walled any inquiries.

"They have refused to do anything about it."

He paid tribute to his sister who he said was "the smartest person I have met.

"Whatever it is that the Kenyan police are reluctant to have brought to light, the collateral damage is that we don’t have answers about Kate’s death."

"She was lush," he said.

"She had worked in Africa for years.

"She was madly in love with where she lived and the people she worked with."

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Mr Mitchell stressed that his sister’s murder should not be seen as a risk of living in Africa.

"It was femicide," he said.

"It could have happened in London or Whitley Bay."