In a setback for Kenyan law enforcement, a man suspected of murdering his girlfriend in the United States and abandoning her body in a Boston airport car park managed to escape police custody in Nairobi on Wednesday.
Kevin Kangethe, awaiting extradition to the United States for the late 2023 death of Margaret Mbitu, slipped away from a Nairobi police station, prompting criticism from Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei, who deemed the situation “embarrassing.”
“We have arrested the four officers who were on duty when he escaped to explain how this happened and we are looking for him,” he told reporters.
Following the discovery of Mbitu’s stabbing death at Boston’s Logan airport in November, US and Kenyan authorities initiated a joint manhunt for Kangethe. An arrest warrant was issued after he fled the United States, leading to his arrest in Kenya in late January.
The suspect, reported to be either 40 or 41 years old, was taken out of his cell on Wednesday for a meeting with his lawyer, who is now also in custody.
According to local police, the escape occurred during the meeting when Kangethe, after a brief period, fled the scene, leaving his lawyer behind. The statement revealed that despite officers giving chase, they were unable to apprehend him.
Media reports suggest that Kangethe boarded a matatu, a privately owned minibus widely utilized for transportation in Kenya. Authorities continue their efforts to locate and recapture the escaped suspect.
