A BBC charity worker was murdered in her Kenyan hotel room by an intruder who then fell to his death from the eighth floor, an inquest has heard.
Kate Mitchell, 42, originally from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, was found with a head injury and signs of strangulation in her room at the Ibis hotel in Nairobi in November 2021, Newcastle Coroner’s Court was told.
Mitchell, who was based in London, worked for BBC Media Action as a project manager in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Zambia.
The charity, which was previously known as the BBC World Service Trust, focuses on international development and the promotion of democratic reporting.
Having reluctantly departed Addis Ababa due to the civil war in Ethiopia, she had been redeployed to the Kenyan capital as a safer alternative.
The inquest heard that an intruder had entered her eighth-floor hotel room and attacked her.
“That man either fell or jumped from the eighth floor bedroom window and he also was found deceased,” Coroner Karin Welsh said.
“That’s the totality of the information we have been able to glean from Nairobi.”
A post-mortem examination when Ms Mitchell’s body was returned to the UK found that she died from a head injury and pressure on the neck.
Ms Welsh concluded that she was unlawfully killed.
The coroner told Pete Mitchell, her brother: “I know you still have questions, I hope they are answered for you.”
After the hearing, Mr Mitchell told reporters that his family was pushing the Kenyan police to reveal more.
They have instructed a lawyer to push for an inquest in Nairobi which could explain more about the circumstances of her murder.
He said: “The Kenyan police have just stone-walled any inquiries. They have refused to do anything about it.”
Mr Mitchell, 42, and his mother have not had his sister’s personal effects, including her laptop, returned.
He added: “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.”
Mr Mitchell, a historian, paid tribute to his sister who he said was “the smartest person I have met”.
“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.
“She was professional and she was really brave. She would go to refugee camps, go to prisons and get people out of trouble.
“She did the work of international development and trying to empower people to create media organisations.
“She was also great craic, she loved a drink and was famous in Whitley Bay.”
Mr Mitchell said that his sister’s murder should not be seen as a risk of living in Africa.
“It was femicide,” he said. “It happens in hotels. She was killed in a way women often are. It could have happened in London or Whitley Bay.”
BBC Media Action paid tribute to Ms Mitchell, calling her a “devoted and beloved” colleague.
“We miss her and will never forget her,” a spokesperson said.
“Our thoughts and condolences remain with her family and all who loved her.”
