It has been reported that the newly appointed acting Venezuelan ambassador to Kenya, Ms. Olga Fonseca, was found dead in a bizarre incident in Nairobi on Friday.

Nairobi police boss Anthony Kibuchi told reporters that Ms Fonseca was found strangled in her Runda home and that the body is still lying at the house as investigations go on. He further said that the police were holding four domestic workers who were taken to Gigiri police station to help with investigations.

According to The Standard, Kibuchi said the body was discovered in Ms Fonseca’s residence which was locked and it appeared she was strangled early in the morning of Friday.

Her death comes in the wake of claims that she had sacked a section of staff at the Venezuelan Embassy in Nairobi last week. Staff at the Venezuela embassy in Nairobi had formally filed complaints with the Diplomatic Police Unit over alleged sexual impropriety by the former ambassador Gerarro da Silva.

More news to follow…

Suspect detained in case of the death of Venezuelan Ambassador to Kenya

(From The Nation MONDAY 30th)

The Director of Public Prosecution has applied for a 14-day detention of an official at the Venezuelan embassy arrested in connection with the death of the country’s ambassador to Kenya.

Through state counsel Tabitha Ouya, the DPP said it is seeking extra detention days to allow for complete investigations before bringing up a formal murder charge against First Secretary Dwight Sagaray for the death of the Venezuelan’s ambassador to Kenya, Olga Fonseca.

The suspect had been charge d’affaires at the Venezuelan Embassy.

Ms Ouya told the court that Mr Sagaray is a suspect in the murder awaiting completion of investigations before he is formally charged.

She said that the suspect was arrested on Saturday, a few hours after his diplomatic immunity was waived, and that the police had not had enough time to compile evidence linking Mr Saragay to the murder.

“Initial investigations reveal the deceased was strangled and Mr Sagaray is a key suspect in her death. The offence is very serious and has attracted much public attention which is why we are requesting for more days to complete investigations,” said Ouya.

She added that Mr Sagaray should be detained to allow investigators to obtain post-mortem results of the deceased, DNA analysis report as well as age and mental assessment report of the suspect.

She argued that the investigators still need to secure more crucial evidence and arrest other possible suspects in the murder, adding that Mr Sagaray holds a very influential position at the Embassy and if released would interfere with potential witnesses.

“Possible witnesses are from the Embassy and we fear he might interfere with them. That is the reason we are asking to continue holding him to gather enough evidence to bring up murder charge,” said Ouya.

The application to detain the suspect was opposed by his lawyer Jotham Arwa who asked the court to balance between the interest of the accused and justice.

Mr Arwa submitted that the reasons given to continue detaining the accused were not sufficient since the prosecution had enough time from Saturday – when he was arrested – to complete their investigations and either charge him with murder or release him.

He argued that Mr Sagaray’s continued detention without being charged will not in any way stop the police from obtaining post-mortem and DNA results, and that there was no certainty that they will conclude the investigations within the requested 14 days.

Lady Justice Florence Muchemi will make a ruling on the application on Tuesday.