The Gatsby Charitable Foundation has confirmed that its Africa programmes director was killed in a hotel attack in Nairobi, Kenya.
On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, there was a terrorist attack in a hotel in the Riverside area of Nairobi, resulting in at least 21 people losing their lives and others injured.
Nic Hailey, the UK high commissioner to Kenya, confirmed that at least one British man was killed in the attack.
He said: “I am very sad to confirm at least one British national has been killed in the attack and we are providing our support to his family and friends at this very difficult time and our thoughts are with them.”
Gatsby said in a statement it was “deeply shocked and saddened” to confirm that Luke Potter, who worked at the charity for the past three and a half years, was killed in the attack.
The charity said Potter had devoted the past ten years of his career to helping some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.
It said: “Luke was instrumental in establishing our forestry programme and team in Kenya, and provided crucial leadership, guidance and support to our Tanzanian forestry programme and our tea programmes in Rwanda and Tanzania.
“Luke was respected by all he worked with, bringing huge drive, determination, a relentless work ethic, and a thirst for new ideas to every project.
“He brought a calm head and his unique sense of humour to every situation. He was deeply committed to his work, to his teams, to Gatsby and to development in Africa. He was our colleague and our friend.
“We share the grief of his family, partner, daughter and friends. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with them. We are now focused on offering all the support we can to them and to our staff.
“We ask that you please respect the privacy of his loved ones and colleagues at this extremely difficult time.”
Potter was mostly based in London and oversaw Gatsby's foresty and tea portfolio, which included its forestry programmes in Tanzania and Kenya.
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