Employer of social worker kidnapped in Kenya tells of shock

Kidnapped social worker Judith Tebbutt’s employers have spoken of their shock after she was taken hostage while holidaying in Kenya.

Tebbutt’s husband, David, was shot and killed and she was taken hostage at the Kiwayu Safari Village resort in Kenya in the early hours of Sunday.

A team of detectives from Scotland Yard have flown to Kenya to assist local police with the case. It is feared that Tebbutt, who is partially deaf, has been taken across the border by Somali terrorists.

Tebbutt works for Partnerships in Care supporting patients with psychiatric problems at Kneesworth House in Bassingbourn-cum-Kneesworth, Cambridgeshire.

A spokesperson for Partnerships in Care told Community Care: “We hope she is returned safely soon. She has so much to deal with in terms of the death of her husband. This is such an awful story.”

A statement from the company added: “Jude has been with the company for seven years and is a dedicated team member known to many of the patients and staff at the hospital. Our thoughts are with Jude and her family at this time.”

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is offering support to Tebbutt’s family and has deployed a consular team from its High Commission in Nairobi to the area.

A department spokesperson added: “We are working to secure the safe and swift release of the British national who has been kidnapped and ask those involved to show compassion and release the individual immediately.”

The couple, from Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, were the only guests at the resort.

CareSpace forum thread for Judith

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