Venezuela ambassador murdered in Kenya
A security guard from a private company walks on July 27, 2012 near the gate the of the Venezuelan embassy residence in a Nairobi suburb. Venezuela’s acting ambassador, Olga Fonseca, was found strangled at her Nairobi home, Kenyan police said.
Police officials said acting Venezuelan ambassador to Kenya and charge d'affaires Olga Fonseca was murdered Friday in Nairobi.
According to the Associated Press, Fonseca, 57, was found dead in the official embassy residence, a white mansion surrounded by tropical trees and an electric fence in the exclusive Runda neighborhood.
"We received reports that she was found dead in the house on her bed. What we have seen is that she has been strangled," Anthony Kibuchi, Nairobi area police commander, told reporters outside Fonseca's residence, said Reuters.
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The AP also reported that Kibuchi said an investigation had been launched and police had questioned two staff members at the residence.
According to Kenya's Standard Media, Fonseca started her job on July 15, replacing former ambassador Gerardo Carrillo da Silva, who was accused of sexual harassment. Her death came shortly after claims that she fired a section of staff at the Venezuela's embassy in Nairobi last week.
The embassy has been in Kenyan news since the accusations against da Silva had him leave the country in a huff in May, the Standard also reported. Three junior employees of the Venezuela embassy in Nairobi who worked at da Silva's Runda home had filled formal complaints with the Diplomatic Police Unit over alleged sexual impropriety by the former ambassador.