Wanted murder suspect Kevin Kinyanjui Kang’ethe, who escaped from police custody on February 7, 2024, has been re-arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
In a statement on Wednesday, DCI said Kang’ethe was nabbed in Ngong township in Kajiado County last night
“The escapee was taken to custody last night following a scrupulous intelligence-led operation within Ngong township in Kajiado County,” DCI said.
Kang’ethe had escaped from Muthaiga Police Station where he was being held awaiting extradition to the United States to answer to a charge of first-degree murder.
He is accused of killing his girlfriend, Margaret Mbitu, at an airport in Boston, United States on October 31, 2023.
Massachusetts State Police said in early November that Kang’ethe had left her body in a car at Logan International Airport and boarded a flight to Kenya. He was arrested at a nightclub in Westlands, Nairobi, on January 30 after being on the run for three months.
On the day he escaped from police custody, he had been released from his cell to meet a man who introduced himself to officers at the station as the suspect’s lawyer.
Shortly after, Kang’ethe is said to have slipped out of the police station jumped into a matatu and disappeared.
“The prisoner escaped by running away leaving the said lawyer behind. Officers raised an alarm as they chased the prisoner along Thika highway but couldn’t re-arrest him,” police said.
Nairobi Regional Police Commander Adamson Bungei termed the incident embarrassing and called for the arrest of the four police officers who were at the station at the time of the incident. The officers were arrested alongside Kang’ethe’s alleged lawyer.
Arrest warrant
A Milimani court issued a warrant of arrest for the 40-year-old suspect on Friday, February 9, 2024, following an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
“Your honour we seek you issue a warrant of arrest against the suspect to have the same circulated in all police stations in the country for ease of him being apprehended,” the prosecution said.
