NAIROBI, Kenya – A man facing extradition to Massachusetts on charges of killing his girlfriend and leaving her body in a car at Boston’s Logan International Airport has escaped from police custody in Kenya, authorities said Thursday.
Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kangethe managed to slip out of a police station and flee in a privately owned minivan, according to Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei. As a result, a manhunt for Kangethe was immediately launched.
According to a police report, four officers on duty at the station have been detained and provided statements regarding the escape. The report mentioned that a man claiming to be Kangethe’s lawyer requested to speak with him, and the officers left them alone in an office. Shortly after, Kangethe escaped, leaving the “lawyer” behind.
Kangethe had been detained while waiting for a ruling on whether he should be extradited to the US to face a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Margaret Mbitu on October 31, 2023.
Massachusetts State Police stated that Kangethe had left Mbitu’s body in a car at Logan International Airport and then boarded a flight to Kenya. After being on the run for three months, he was arrested in a nightclub on January 30.
Once in custody, Kangethe claimed to have renounced his US citizenship. The police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that if Kangethe were an American citizen, he would have been repatriated without a court process.
A court approved a police request to detain Kangethe for 30 days while the extradition issue is addressed. The prosecutor asked the court to endorse the US warrant for Kangethe’s arrest and provide directions for the extradition proceedings.
Mbitu, a health care aide in Halifax, was last seen leaving work on October 30 and reported missing by her family. The preliminary investigation revealed that she had traveled with Kangethe to Lowell, where he lived.
The escape of Kangethe from police custody has raised questions about possible corruption within law enforcement in Kenya. Notably, other suspected killers have also managed to escape custody in the past, prompting concerns about the integrity of the country’s criminal justice system.