Murder suspect Kevin Kangethe has been arrested, in Embulbul, Ngong on Tuesday evening as he sought refuge at one of his relatives’ homes.
The suspect, who is accused of brutally killing his girlfriend at a United States airport before fleeing to Kenya, has been on the run after a dramatic escape at Muthaiga Police station.
His family members confirmed the arrest, stating that he was taken into custody at the Ngong police station just after 11 p.m. on Tuesday under tight security.
According to a police report documenting the incident, the 40-year-old suspect vanished from Muthaiga Police Station following his court appearance on January 31.
A person purporting to be Kang’ethe’s attorney visited him at the station, and authorities permitted him to exit his cell to meet the supposed lawyer, after a short while the prisoner escaped by running away and left the lawyer behind
“At the time of the escape the station commander Chief Inspector Esther Muchomba was chairing a meeting/lecture with all the Anti-crime personnel and members of inspectorate while at her office, she was alerted by a loud noise of officers who were chasing the prisoner along Thika Super Highway but they did not manage to re-arrest him,” read part of the report
Four police officers, Elijah Kipkiror (Cell sentry), James Maina (report personnel), Ann Wanjiku (station guard) and Hassan Saman (Station Guard) who were on duty have since been arrested as they undergo interrogation on the incident. The advocate, John Maina Ndegwa, is also in police custody.
Kang’ethe stands accused of murdering a 31-year-old Kenyan woman, who resided in Whitman, Massachusetts and whose body was found inside a vehicle at Boston’s Logan Airport in November of last year.
Officials from Massachusetts collaborated with Kenyan authorities to locate Kang’ethe, who was apprehended at a nightclub on January 30 after evading capture for three months. Kang’ethe had renounced his U.S. citizenship, leading to decision regarding his extradition to face a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Margaret Mbitu.
A Nairobi court had approved a police application for him to be detained for 30 days while the extradition issue was heard. Officials said had he been an American citizen, he would have been repatriated without a court process.
