Police in Kenya refuse to release post-mortem report into death of murdered BBC staffer Kate Mitchell

Calls are growing in Kenya for the police to release the post-mortem report into the death of Briton Kate Michell, the BBC staffer who was murdered in her Nairobi hotel room just over a week ago.

Dan Mauti, the father of the prime suspect implicated in the killing, Tamati Mauti, told various media in Kenya that the police are refusing to make the post-mortem results public. He said the autopsy was conducted on 20 November, more than a week ago.

“The police keep telling us that they are investigating the matter. The management of the hotel where I hear my son died has also not told us anything,” he stated.

Murder

Mitchell, the former head of BBC’s charity wing BBC Media Action in Ethiopia was found in her room on 19 November with a stab wound to the neck and bruises around her eyes.

It has emerged that she had drinks with her alleged killer in the bar of the Nairobi hotel where she was staying.

The prime suspect in the murder of the British journalist had booked a room with his girlfriend at the same hotel as Mitchell, according to various news reports in Kenya.

Mauti had reportedly checked in at the IBIS luxury establishment as where the BBC veteran was staying in Westlands, one of Nairobi’s most upmarket areas.

After having drinks with Mitchell in the hotel bar, Mauti followed her back to her room on the eight floor, Nairobi’s Standard newspaper reported earlier this week.

“We suspect that this is when the two engaged in a scuffle that resulted in the death of Ms Mitchell,” Kilimani Sub-county Police Commander Muturi Mbogo told another newspaper, Daily Nation.

Shock

The BBC said earlier this week it is “shocked and saddened” by the death of Mitchell, who had worked with the broadcaster for 14 years in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zambia and London.

The BBC described Mitchell as “positive, fun, driven and extremely talented” and said her work made a huge difference to communities across the globe, addressing poverty and inequality.

The broadcaster said it is working with the Government to establish the circumstances around Mitchell’s death, although it believes it was not linked to her work.