Venezuelan diplomat in Kenya held after embassy killing

A news photographer walks on July 27 near the main entrance of the Venezuelan Embassy residence in a Nairobi suburb. By Tony Karumba (AFP/File)

NAIROBI (AFP) - A senior Venezuelan diplomat appeared in court in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Monday, as police applied to hold him for 14 days in connection with the killing of the acting ambassador.

Police said the strangled body of Olga Fonseca Gimenez, 57, the Venezuelan charge d'affaires and acting ambassador, was found in her Nairobi home on Friday.

Dwight Sagaray, First Secretary at the embassy, was arrested on Saturday and appeared in court on Monday. He has not been charged but police have applied to detain him for 14 days.

Police said investigations were ongoing and both post-mortem results and DNA tests had yet to be completed.

"The investigations being carried out are incomplete, and we would therefore require more time to secure the crucial evidence and apprehend other suspects," police corporal Lucas Juma told the court.

Sagaray was remanded in custody overnight, with a decision expected Tuesday on an application of bail made by his lawyer.

As a diplomat, Sagaray should be eligible for diplomatic immunity, but this was waived before his arrest, said deputy prosecutor Tabitha Ouya.

Sagaray's lawyer Jotham Arwa said he should be released, and dismissed police accusations that he should be held to prevent potential intimidation of embassy employees.

"We are told that they need to get the results of the post-mortem -- the detention of my client will not make getting the report easier," Arwa said.

"These are just mere allegations, and the state has not even demonstrated how he is going to intimidate the witnesses."