Kenyan authorities are on high alert after Kevin Kinyanjui Kang’ethe, a 42-year-old Boston-area man awaiting extradition to the United States for the murder of his girlfriend, managed to escape from a Nairobi police station.
Kang’ethe, accused of killing Margaret “Maggie” Mbitu in Boston, Massachusetts, disappeared from the heavily guarded Muthaiga police station on Wednesday afternoon.
US investigators allege that Kang’ethe fled to Kenya shortly after Mbitu’s murder on November 1, 2023. Mbitu’s body was discovered in Kang’ethe’s SUV at Boston Logan International Airport two days after she was reported missing.
According to a police report shared with CNN, a man claiming to be Kang’ethe’s lawyer arrived at the station on Wednesday and requested to speak with him. Subsequently, officers released Kang’ethe from his cell and left them alone in an office, where he made his escape.
Nairobi police boss Adamson Bungei disclosed that four police officers have been arrested in connection with Kang’ethe’s escape. Meanwhile, Kang’ethe’s legal team expressed shock over his disappearance, stating that they were unaware of his whereabouts.
Kang’ethe was apprehended outside a nightclub in Nairobi on January 30 and appeared in court the following day. Following a US extradition request, Kenyan authorities initiated formal proceedings to return him to Boston to face murder charges.
The escape of Kang’ethe has triggered a manhunt, with Kenyan authorities intensifying efforts to locate and apprehend the suspect.
Source: CNN
