Kevin Kang'ethe: Kenyan Accused Of Killing Lover In US Escapes Custody

Kevin Kang'ethe, a 40-year-old Kenyan who was arrested in Nairobi in connection with the death of his 31-year-old lover Margaret Mbitu in the United States (US) has escaped from police custody.

The suspect was reported to have gone missing from Muthaiga Police Station where he had been detained after being presented in court on January 31, 2024.

According to reports, a man who claimed to be Kang’ethe’s lawyer went to see him at the station and police allowed him to leave the cell and go outside to meet his alleged advocate.

Nairobi Police Regional Commander, Adamson Bungei revealed that Kang'ethe slipped out of the police station and hopped onto a matatu. 

Kevin Kang'ethe arraigned in court. /PHOTO

Bungei added that he rushed to the station upon learning of his escape.

Four police officers who were at the station and the said lawyer have since been arrested and a manhunt for Kang'ethe launched.

"We have arrested the officers who were on duty when he escaped to explain how it happened. It is just embarrassing to us," he said. 

Kang'ethe, who is alleged to have killed Mbitu at Logan International Airport in Boston, USA, was arrested on Monday night, January 29 in Nairobi's Westlands area and detained at Gigiri Police Station.

He was thereafter presented in court on a miscellaneous application where detectives were granted 30 days to detain him pending conclusion of investigations.

The court while detaining him at Muthaiga police station noted that there was no objection to the application by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) on the seriousness of the offence.

Further, the DPP told the court that there are several applications to be made including that of extradition to the US where he is wanted on murder charges.

"There being no objection and owing to the fact that the DPP wants to extradite the suspect and the seriousness of this matter the accused is hereby detained at Muthaiga Police Station matter to be mentioned on 4th of March," ruled magistrate Zainab Abdul.

According to investigators, the suspect and the deceased were both residents of Massachusetts and are said to have been in a relationship.

Preliminary investigations indicate that Kang'ethe violently attacked and repeatedly stabbed the woman in the face and neck area causing catastrophic injuries that led to her death.

Further, the court was told that when fled to Kenya, the suspect went into hiding where he allegedly kept constant communication using various telephone numbers with his friends back in the US and a few of his family and friends here in Kenya.

According to multiple US media reports, Mbitu was found dead in a car on November 1, 2023, inside a car at the airport, 48 hours after she was reported missing.

Massachusetts State Police alleged that Kang'ethe had murdered his lover and reportedly booked a flight to Kenya from Boston following the incident.

Mbitu, a professional nurse, was reportedly found with stab wounds on the body inside the man's car parked at a garage at the airport.

She was last seen alive at her workstation in Halifax on October 30, 2023, with her family and colleagues proceeding to publish flyers bearing her photo and basic information on Facebook, seeking her whereabouts.

A plane taking off from Boston's Logan International Airport in USA. /FILE