Suspect awaiting extradition over US nurse murder escapes Kenya cell

Larry Madowo, CNN | 2/8/2024, 6:59 a.m.
A suspect accused of murdering his girlfriend in Boston, MA from murder escaped from a Nairobi police station Wednesday afternoon …
Kevin Kang’ethe was awaiting extradition to the US when he disappeared from a police station in Nairobi on Wednesday. Mandatory Credit: Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

A suspect accused of murdering his girlfriend in Boston, MA from murder escaped from a Nairobi police station Wednesday afternoon and is still on the run, Kenyan police and his lawyers confirmed.

Kevin Kinyanjui Kang’ethe, a 42-year-old Boston-area man, was awaiting extradition to the United States when he disappeared from the heavily guarded Muthaiga police station in Nairobi.

US investigators say he boarded a plane to Kenya shortly after killing his girlfriend on November 1, 2023. Margaret “Maggie” Mbitu’s body was found in Kang’ethe’s SUV in a parking garage at Boston Logan International Airport two days after she was reported missing.

A police report read to CNN said that a man claiming to be Kang’ethe’s lawyer appeared at the station at about 4pm on Wednesday asking to speak with him. Officers released Kang’ethe from his cell and left them alone in an office.

“The prisoner escaped by running away,” the report stated. Four police officers have been arrested, Kenyan newspaper The Standard reported, quoting Nairobi police boss Adamson Bungei.

Kang’ethe’s legal team during his court appearances told CNN they were unaware of his “dramatic escape.”

“Someone showed up posing as an advocate, he was given a room for interrogation, Kang’ethe got a chance and took off,” the lawyer who did not want to be named said. He added that they did not know his whereabouts.

Kang’ethe was arrested outside a nightclub in Nairobi on 30th January and presented in court the following day. Following an application for extradition from the US, Kenyan authorities began the formal process to send him back to Boston to face murder charges.

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