Wanted murder suspect Kangéthe escapes from police custody

Kevin Kinyanjui Kang'ethe, the Kenyan man accused of killing Margaret Mbitu last year in Boston, US, has fled from custody in Nairobi.

According to the officers on duty at the time, the fugitive who was arrested at a pub in Nairobi last week escaped from Muthaiga police station on Wednesday evening while allegedly seeing his lawyer at the station.

Police said the suspect was having a meeting with the lawyer identified as John Maina Ndegwa.

Ndegwa had introduced himself to officers as a personal lawyer to the detainee and said he wished to talk to him.

"The officers agreed to his request and removed the prisoner from the cells and took him to the anti-crime office number three leaving the two alone," a police report said.

After a short while the prisoner escaped by running away leaving the lawyer, who has since been arrested, behind.

According to the police, officers then saw him fleeing and chased him along the Thika Super Highway but did not manage to re-arrest him.

Three police constables who were on duty at the time including the cell sentry, report personnel and station guard have also been placed in custody as the probe into the disappearance begins.

The suspect had been booked at the station by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters who last week were allowed by the court to detain him for 30 days as the Directorate of Public Prosecution prepares his extradition proceedings, as requested by the US where he was expected to face the murder charges.

Extradition request

Last week, the ODPP in a statement said the US filed the extradition request through the office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division to have him charged for the alleged murder.

"Upon thorough perusal of the request and being satisfied that there's sufficient evidence, the DPP filed a substantive Extradition Application No E356 of 2024 against the fugitive," the statement read in part.

After silently jetting into the country, Kangéthe (40), went into hiding but was constantly in communication with his friends back in the USA and family members, relatives, and friends using different telephone numbers.

He was however arrested on the night of January 30 by detectives working with US security agencies in the matter at a club in Parklands.

He is wanted by the Chelsea District Court in Massachusetts to face first-degree murder charges in violation of Massachusetts General Law chapter 265, section 1 under the laws of the USA.

Court documents say that the fugitive who has been on the run for the last two months killed Margaret (36) on October 31, last year by stabbing her multiple times in the face and neck leaving her body in a locked car in a parking garage at Boston International Airport before fleeing the US.

After finding the body on November 1 last year at around 6:30 pm, Massachusetts State Police issued an arrest warrant on the suspect on November 2. They urged the suspect to surrender himself to authorities.

"We urge this suspect to turn himself in to authorities before he or anyone else gets hurt. We are making every effort possible to apprehend him and to begin the process of seeking justice for Margaret Mbitu and those mourning her tragic death," Suffolk County DA Kevin Hayden said in a statement at the time.

Mbitu nicknamed "Maggie" was reported missing after her employer called and said she had not shown up for her nursing job in Halifax.

Missing person posters shared by her family and friends online said Mbitu was last seen after she left her workplace on October 30.

"Embassy Nairobi commends the efforts of Kenyan law enforcement for apprehending Kenyan fugitive Kevin Kangethe, suspected to have murdered Margaret Mbitu in Massachusetts sometime between October 30 and November 4, 2023," the US Embassy said in a statement on Monday.