Suspect was jailed and awaiting a ruling on a US extradition request after being accused of killing his girlfriend in Massachusetts.
A Kenyan nationwide awaiting extradition to the USA after being accused of killing his girlfriend and leaving her physique in a automotive at a Boston airport has escaped from police custody in Kenya, police say.
Kevin Kangethe, 40, slipped out of the police station and jumped right into a privately owned minivan, Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei stated on Thursday. A seek for him started instantly.
4 cops who had been on obligation on the station are in custody and have recorded statements, in response to a police report seen by The Related Press.
The officers stated that about 4pm (13:00 GMT) on Wednesday, a person named John Maina Ndegwa launched himself to the officers as Kangethe’s lawyer and stated he needed to talk along with his shopper.
“The officers agreed to his request and eliminated the prisoner from the cells and took him to [an] workplace … leaving them there. After a short time the prisoner escaped by operating away and left the [lawyer] behind,” the report stated.
Officers pursued Kangethe however didn’t catch him, the police report stated, including that Ndegwa was arrested.
Bungei stated he rushed to the station when he discovered of the escape. “We now have arrested the officers who had been on obligation when he escaped to elucidate the way it occurred. It’s simply embarrassing to us,” he stated.
Kangethe had been detained pending a ruling on whether or not he needs to be extradited to face a first-degree homicide cost in reference to the loss of life of Margaret Mbitu on October 31.
Mbitu, a well being care aide in Halifax, a city within the US state of Massachusetts, was final seen leaving work on October 30 and was reported lacking by her household. The preliminary investigation confirmed Mbitu had left her office and travelled with Kangethe to Lowell, Massachusetts, the place he lived, the prosecution stated.
Massachusetts State Police stated in early November that Kangethe had left her physique in a automotive at Logan Worldwide Airport and boarded a flight to Kenya. Massachusetts officers stated they had been working with Kenyan authorities to find him, and he was arrested in a Nairobi nightclub on January 30 after being on the run for 3 months.
A Kenyan courtroom accredited a police utility for him to be detained for 30 days whereas an extradition request was heard.
Police have been ranked as Kenya’s most corrupt establishment for many years, and his escape raised suspicions that bribes had been paid for his freedom. Different suspected killers have escaped police custody up to now.
On October 14, 2021, Masten Wanjala, who had confessed to killing 10 kids in his hometown of Bungoma in western Kenya, reportedly escaped from police cells in Nairobi underneath unclear circumstances. A mob in his hometown traced him to a home and beat him to loss of life a few days later.
