(Corrects murder date to July 2012 instead of May 2012, paragraph 2)
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Kenyan court on Wednesday found a Venezuelan diplomat guilty of killing the Latin American nation’s acting ambassador a decade ago at his home in an upscale Nairobi neighborhood.
Dwight Sagaray, who was the embassy’s first secretary, was found guilty of killing Olga Fonseca in July 2012, Judge Roselyn Korir said in her ruling.
The court also convicted three Kenyan nationals who had been charged alongside Sagaray, saying they were involved in a joint plan to carry out the killing.
Another suspect who fled after the killing is still at large and the court said his arrest warrant should remain in place.
Sagaray, who wore a suit and tie in the dock, folded his hands and held them to his face as the verdict was read.
Sagaray could face trial for the murder because he did not enjoy diplomatic immunity after Venezuela revoked it following the crime, the court ruled.
Fonseca was found strangled in her bedroom less than two weeks into her post in Nairobi, following the previous ambassador’s abrupt departure after being accused by her domestic staff of sexual harassment.
Sagaray, who had been head of the mission before Fonseca’s arrival, was irritated by his presence as he wanted to continue overseeing the embassy, the court found.
He intended to be the primary beneficiary of the crime, Korir said, adding that there was evidence he had attempted to interfere with Fonseca’s ability to assume the role of head of the embassy, before she was killed.
Sagaray and his co-defendant will be sentenced at a later date, the judge said.
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri and Humphrey Malalo in NairobiEditing by Matthew Lewis)
