A pregnant Bill Clinton staffer was among the victims of the Kenya attack at a mall, and the woman’s boyfriend was also murdered in Nairobi over the weekend.
Elif Yavuz was two weeks away from her due date, and Clinton says he’d just seen her, happy and healthy before the attack.
Yavuz, 33, was a senior vaccines researcher based in Tanzania, and Clinton says she was excited for the arrival of her baby when they last met in the region.
The former President explains:
“I saw her just a couple weeks ago in Dar es Salaam when I was there. She was nine months pregnant, just a couple of weeks away from delivery. So she and her baby’s father were walking in that mall in Nairobi, because she wanted to have the baby in Kenya. She thought that would be best. And they were both killed.”
Ross Langdon, Yavuz’s partner, was also killed in the attack .
The young researcher worked for the Clinton Global Initiative, and in a statement, the Clinton family expressed their condolences and sadness for the pregnant woman’s sudden death, saying:
“We were shocked and terribly saddened to learn of the death of Elif Yavuz in the senseless attacks in Nairobi. Elif devoted her life to helping others, particularly people in developing countries suffering from malaria and HIV/AIDS. Elif was brilliant, dedicated, and deeply admired by her colleagues, who will miss her terribly.”
A statement was also released by Julio Frenk, dean of Harvard’s School of Public Health. Frenk said:
“Elif committed her career and her life to helping those in need. Her compassion was an inspiration to everyone she touched at HSPH and the broader global community in which she lived and worked. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.”
The attack that claimed the lives of Elif Yavuz and her partner may have resulted in as many as 62 deaths.
