A Kenyan man accused of killing a woman in the US before fleeing to Kenya has been arraigned before a Nairobi court.
Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kangethe was arraigned at Milimani Law Courts before Principal Magistrate Zainab Abdul.
The Prosecution applied to have Kangethe detained for another 30 days to conclude investigations and prepare extradition papers so that he can be taken back to the US to face 1st degree murder charges.
Kangethe, 41, is accused of murdering home health care aid Margaret Mbitu on 31st October 2023 in Massachusetts. It is alleged that the two were in a relationship.
According to the police, Mbitu went missing on 30th October after leaving her place of work and efforts to trace her by her family were futile.
Her family made a missing person report at the Whitman Police Department who later enlisted the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police.
“Preliminary investigations by the Massachusetts State Police indicated that the deceased person left Whitman after leaving her place of work and traveled to 60 miles away to Lowell together with the respondent (Kangethe) where he lived,” read the investigator’s affidavit.
The police also found out that the two were traveling to Lowell using Kangethe’s vehicle, a white Toyota Venza in the early morning of 31st October.
The attack
It is during this time that Kangethe is alleged to have violently attacked and repeatedly stabbed Mbitu in the face and neck area, causing catastrophic injuries that led to her death.
“After brutally stabbing the deceased, the respondent kept her body in the said vehicle and drove to different locations, as he disposed off the deceased’s cellular phone in a trash dumpster. Later the Respondent drove to Logan International Airport and parked the motor vehicle in a garage with the body of Mbitu concealed under a bag and several other items, the investigator added.
Kangethe then proceeded to the boarding terminal and flew to Nairobi, Kenya via London then went into hiding.
However, the suspect kept in touch with his friends back in the US and his family in Kenya using different phone numbers.
Police found Mbitu’s body on 1st November 2023, at around 6:35pm in the said car at the airport garage.
The court ordered the suspect to be detained at Muthaiga Police Station. The case will be mentioned on 4th March 2024.
