Statement regarding our Gatsby colleague Luke Potter
We are all shocked and saddened by the news that Luke Potter, Africa Programmes Director for the Gatsby Charitable foundation, was killed in the violent attack in Nairobi on the 15th January. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to his family and friends.
We at The Sainsbury Laboratory are part of a family of charities supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation. I strongly emphasise the word ‘family’ here. These charities all have, at their heart, a commitment to try to make the world a better place.
Luke Potter was deeply committed to development in Africa. He oversaw Gatsby’s forestry and tea portfolio, including its forestry programmes in Tanzania and Kenya, and tea programmes in Tanzania and Rwanda. This work is improving the lives of people in these countries, providing opportunity and hope for the future. Luke’s work was helping some of the most vulnerable people, living in low income countries.
I want to put on record that we at The Sainsbury Laboratory are very proud of Luke’s achievements and the important contributions he made to improving lives in Africa. This will be his legacy. We deplore the senselessness of his death and the violence and extremism that led to these events in Nairobi.
On this sad day, we also commit ourselves to continuing the mission of Gatsby and contributing to its primary goal of using knowledge for the betterment of humanity.
Professor Nick Talbot, Executive Director, The Sainsbury Laboratory
