Found decomposed body confirmed to be of missing Ghanaian UNICEF staff
The decomposed body of a woman found on Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa, has been confirmed to be the body of the missing Ghanaian female employee of UNICEF.
South African police found the decomposing body last Tuesday May 30, 2017 and took it for post-mortem. It has been confirmed today, that the body is that of Charlotte Nikoi.
Nikoi went missing two months ago on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa where she had gone hiking with her family.
52-year-old Nikoi, a Ghanaian citizen was Associate Director of Human Resources at UNICEF at UN headquarters organization where she had worked for 18 years. She went missing during the hiking.
Nikoi had travelled on holidays to South Africa about a week before she went missing. She was in the country with the husband to celebrate their 22 years of marriage.
South African news organization, News 24 reported that police found a decomposed body of a woman on Table Mountain last Tuesday. The news service citing Captain FC van Wyk of the Cape Town Police, said provincial detectives’ team and park rangers discovered the body.
“A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death and identity,” Capt. van Wyk was quoted as saying.
When she went missing Ghanaians on Facebook mounted an extensive campaign urging that she should be hopefully found alive.
UNICEF reportedly issued a press statement today confirming the body was that of its missing employee.
“Nana Yaa devoted the past 18 years of her life to the work and values of the United Nations. She began her UN career at the World Food Programme, where she rose through the ranks as a dedicated human resources officer. Following a post at the United Nations Population Fund, she joined UNICEF on secondment in 2016 as Associate Director in the Division of Human Resources, where she helped design and implement initiatives to strengthen UNICEF’s workforce and build our talent pool.
Those who knew and worked with Nana Yaa at UNICEF remember her as a warm, supportive colleague and friend with a bright smile who was always a pleasure to work with. She will be deeply missed. I know we all offer our particular condolences to her colleagues in DHR,” a statement from UNICEF said.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi