Family 'no closer' to truth over BBC worker death
PAThe brother of a BBC charity worker who was killed while working in Kenya has expressed frustration at further delays to her inquest there.
Kate Mitchell, 42, and originally from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, was working for BBC Media Action when she was found dead in her hotel room in Nairobi in November 2021.
An inquest held in the UK ruled she had been unlawfully killed. A Kenyan inquest has been taking place since last year but has been repeatedly delayed.
Following an inquest hearing earlier, Peter Mitchell said they were "no closer to finding out what happened" after four of eight people listed to appear failed to give evidence.
Returning to Nairobi for the hearing, he said: "When we began our court session this morning we expected eight witnesses to appear, and only one was actually here."
The inquest heard from the brother of Tamati Mauti, who also died at the scene after plunging from an eighth floor window at the Ibis Styles hotel where Kate Mitchell died.
Kenyan police have said they believe Mauti killed her before leaping to his death, but his brother Sudi Mauti told the inquest his sibling had no interest in violent behaviour.
Mitchell thanked Mauti for giving evidence and said both families had been frustrated by the slow pace of the inquest.
He said: "I am very grateful to Sudi Mauta for appearing today - there are two grieving families involved here, one having lost a beloved son and the other a beloved daughter.
"Both of them have been systematically frustrated in their attempts to establish the truth of how their loved ones died."
He added: "I'm particularly disappointed in the police - at every stage they have obstructed, obfuscated and made things difficult for us.
"After nearly five years they still have not shared important evidence with counsel or with the families of the deceased, they still have possession of some of my sister's effects, and their witnesses consistently fail to appear at court."
The inquest also heard details of the aftermath of Kate Mitchell's death from a forensic investigator and a paramedic, as well as from a senior manager at BBC Media Action.
Media Action is the BBC's charitable arm where she had been working in Addis Ababa but was relocated to Kenya following the outbreak of war in Ethiopia.
The Foreign Office said it was supporting the family of a British woman who died in Kenya and were providing them with updates.
