Venezuelan in Kenyan court over diplomatic murder

Kenyan police arrested a senior Venezuelan diplomat on 30 July in relation to the murder of Venezuela's chargé d'affaires, who had been her country’s acting ambassador to Kenya since 15 July.

Police confirmed that Olga Fonseca was found strangled on 27 July, just two days after she moved into the ambassador’s residence in the upmarket northern Nairobi suburb of Runda.

The embassy's first secretary Dwight Sagaray was arrested on 28 July along with five Kenyan embassy employees. Sagaray, whose diplomatic immunity was waived, is waiting to learn if he faces being remanded or released on bail after police were granted up to 14 days to hold him in custody.

Officers are awaiting post-mortem results and DNA analysis to help their investigation into Fonseca’s murder, the motive of which remains unclear.

Prior to the ambassador's death, Kenyan staff at the residence had filed complaints with Kenya's foreign ministry following their dismissal by Fonseca. The employees claim they were fired for refusing to retract sexual harassment claims against Fonseca's predecessor Gerardo Carrillo Silva who left Nairobi two months ago amid the accusations by three male members of staff.