A Kenyan man who allegedly murdered his girlfriend in America last year in October has been arraigned at the Milimani law court and detained for 30 days to enable the DPP to prepare extradition proceedings.
Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kang’ethe, alias Kevin A., Kang’ethe will cool his heels at the Muthaiga Police station pending his extradition to America to answer charges of killing Margaret Mbitu, 31, on October 30, 2023.
Kang’ethe was produced before the Milimani senior principal magistrate Zainabu Abdul over the gruesome Murder of Margaret in the USA.
In remanding the suspect, Mrs. Abdul said the offense that Kang’ethe will face is severe, and police need to be given time to complete the Investigation diary,
“The application by the DPP for the detention of the suspect for 30 days has merit and is hereby allowed,” said the magistrate.
In applying for the detention, the DPP said the suspect is being investigated for the offense of first-degree Murder, in violation of Massachusetts General Law (GL), Chapter (C) 265 section (1) under the law of the United States.
Kang’ethe is alleged to have murdered Margaret Mbitu on October 31, 2023, by stabbing her severally in the face and on the neck.
He is said to have locked her up in a vehicle parked at a garage at Boston Logan International Airport before he fled from the United States.
The suspect was arrested on January 30, 2024, within Parklands in Nairobi county and detained at Gigiri police station, where he was arraigned in court.
The prosecution sought 30 days to enable the DPP to conclude the extradition proceedings.
The prosecutor told the court that on November 2, 2023, the Chelsea District Court received an application for a criminal complaint charging Kang’ethe with Murder contrary to American law.
The respondent was absent from the American court, and a warrant for his arrest was issued against him.
The court directed that he be extradited to America upon his arrest to face justice for the heinous offense.
The Investigating officer in Kenya, Patrick Wachira, told the court that the homicide division of the DCI-Kenya received a Diplomatic Note No. 0095 from the USA embassy in Nairobi requesting the Kenya government through the Ministry of Foreign and diaspora affairs to have Kang’ethe arrested and extradited to the USA to face prosecution.
Inspector Patrick Wachira told Mrs Abdul that the DCI foreign affairs, in conjunction with the inspector general of police, had begun to trace Kang’ethe,
“The respondent was arrested on January 30, 2024, within Parklands in Nairobi county and thereby booked at Gigiri police station vide OB No. 02/30/01/2024 at 0037 hrs in connection with the ongoing Investigation for the murder of Margaret Mbitu in Lowell, Massachusetts on October 31, 2023,” said Wachira.
The officer also told the court that both the respondent and the deceased are residents of Massachusetts and were in a relationship.
Mbitu was a home healthcare aid in the town of Halifax, Massachusetts.
The deceased went missing on October 30, 2023, after leaving her place of work, and efforts by the family to trace her were futile.
The family reported about their missing person at Whitman police department and later enlisted the assistance of Massachusetts state police.
Preliminary Investigations were that the deceased left her place of work and traveled to Lowell with Kang’ethe, where he lived a distance of approximately 60 miles away.
United police found out that the deceased and Kang’ethe traveled to Lowell riding in a Toyota Venza white in color on the morning of October 31, 2023.
Kang’ethe” violently attacked and repeatedly stabbed Mbitu in the face and neck, causing catastrophic injuries that led to her death,” said Wachira.
After killing her, Kang’ethe drove the vehicle to different locations as he disposed of the deceased cellular phone in a trash dumpster before driving to Logan International Airport and parked the vehicle in a garage with the body of Mbitu concealed under a bag and several other items.
On November 1, 2023, police discovered the body of Mbitu in the front passenger seat of Kang’ethes’ Toyota Venza car.
He escaped and returned to Kenya through JKIA and went into hiding in various suburbs of Nairobi county, where he has been using various phone numbers to call his friends in the USA as well as his family, relatives, and friends in Kenya.
Inspector Wachira said he is a flight risk as he fled from America to avoid prosecution for the Murder of his girlfriend,
“Kang’ethe has no fixed place of abode since after he fled to Kenya has not been seen at his homestead in Thogoto Kiambu county as he hides from his family and the authority,” said Wachira in his affidavit.
Wachira added that Kang’ethes’ security is at risk as this act of killing Mbitu overseas has elicited different public emotions.
He urged the court to allow the police to request him detained for 30 days in Muthaiga police station.