Kenya has formally filed extradition charges against wanted Kenyan suspect Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kang'ethe alias Kevin A.
Extradition refers to the legal process through which one country surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another country for trial or punishment.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution filed the charges on Wednesday, January 31.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Renson Ingonga said the matter will be mentioned before Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on February 1.
This came hours after the prosecution had successfully applied to detain Kang'ethe for 30 days as they investigate him.
The DPP said he on January 31, 2024, received a formal extradition request from the US, through the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice, from the Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division, Department of Justice, USA, for the arrest and extradition of Kang'ethe.
“Upon thorough perusal of the request, and being satisfied that there is sufficient evidence, the DPP filed a substantive extradition application NO. E356 of 2024 against the Kang'ethe,” the ODPP said.
This is because Kang'ethe had denounced his US citizenship, officials said.
He had dual citizenship but told authorities he had denounced that of America days before leaving Boston.
Kang'ethe who is suspected to have murdered Margaret Mbitu in Massachusetts, United States of America (USA) between October 30 and November 4, 2023, was arrested on January 30, 2024, within Parklands in Westlands, Nairobi County.
He is wanted by the Chelsea District Court in the County of Suffolk, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States of America, for the prosecution of an alleged offence of First-Degree Murder, in violation of Massachusetts General Law (G.L), chapter (c) 265, section 1 under the laws of the USA.
It is alleged that he murdered Margaret on October 31, 2023, by stabbing her multiple times in the face and neck and leaving her in a locked automobile in a parking garage at Boston Logan International Airport before he fled the US.
He arrived in Kenya through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
He maintained constant communication using various telephone numbers with his friends back in the US and family members, relatives and friends in Kenya.
Kenyan detectives had on November 2023 received a request from the US authorities to arrest Kang'ethe for alleged murder in Massachusetts.
An arrest warrant was issued on November 2, after Massachusetts State Police found Margaret's body in a car at Boston’s Logan Airport Central Parking garage the night before.
Whitman police said Margaret was last seen leaving work in Halifax around 11 pm on October 30. At some point after that, investigators said she was murdered.
Margaret’s mother, Rose Mbitu, told the media in the US that her daughter was planning to break up with Kang’ethe.
At 6.30 pm on November 1, police officers in Boston found Margaret’s car with her body inside.
It is believed that after the incident, Kang'ethe bought tickets for a 16-hour flight to Nairobi, a move detectives believe was to avoid prosecution.
The tickets, it has now emerged, were bought early on October 31 morning, just hours after Margaret’s death.
Massachusetts authorities are hoping to take advantage of Kenya’s extradition treaty with the US.
Margaret lived with her family in Whitman and worked in Boston Area Multi-Services Inc (Bamsi) in Brockton, about 7.2 kilometres away.
On October 30 night, she drove 62 kilometres to Boston Logan Airport to see Kang'ethe.
He lived in Lowell, 80 kilometers from Margaret’s home in Whitman.
Local media reported that surveillance footage placed Margaret’s car in Lowell and Chelsea, Massachusetts, the day before she was killed.
The 31-year-old nurse clocked out of her shift at 11 pm last October 30.
She got into her white Toyota Venza and drove off, in what would be the last time she would be seen alive.
Those close to Margaret knew she would return home after work. Family members reported her missing after she did not return home and could not be reached by phone.
Whether she knew her partner was planning to travel to Kenya is still unknown.
Margaret was a naturalised US citizen. She graduated from Quincy College in 2018 and worked for Bamsi, a non-profit organisation.