A section of members of fugitive murder suspect Kevin Kang’ethe say they are relieved following his re-arrest on Tuesday night days after he escaped from Muthaiga police station in Nairobi.
They say being out there and being hunted by authorities had put them in danger of being arrested or harassed.
Some of the close family members who talked to the Star said they had been living in fear and even feared picking up unknown numbers calling them.
“We could also at times not pick up calls of some relatives we suspected had talked to Kevin. We knew his being out here was a danger to many,” said one family member who asked not to be named.
And because Kevin and his blood brother had moved from their Thogotho home, and settled on a farm in the Ngong area, the family members said they anticipated seeing him anywhere he felt safer.
The family member said they had even sent a word to Kang’ethe asking him to surrender to authorities.
“We knew he was on the run and may have appeared on your door anytime which would put you in danger. His being in jail is a big relief for some of us,” said another close family member.
Kang'ethe had been detained pending a ruling on whether he should be extradited to face a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Margaret Mbitu on October 31, 2023.
He however escaped from Muthaiga police station on February 7.
He was rearrested at his cousin’s house in Ngong.
He had called the cousin earlier on and switched off his mobile phone prompting police to summon the cousin, police said.
Later on in the night on Tuesday, he showed up at the home of the cousin.
Kang’ethe’s brother and girlfriend had earlier on been arrested from Ololua, Ngong where they have a farm.
This is after intelligence showed they were either hosting him or talking to him.
They had also done some M-Pesa transactions that directly linked Kang’ethe to the area.
After the arrest of Kang’ethe’s brother, the fugitive sensed danger and started to look for an alternative place to sleep for the night.
He had been spending the daytime in the house and leaving at night, police have revealed.
It was after he arrived at the home of his cousin that police were alerted.
Kang'ethe's cousin says when he arrived at the house, he appeared disturbed, tired and shaken but he calmed him down by offering him a stick of cigarette.
He had then alerted one of his relatives to inform the police that Kang’ethe was there.
Police believe the escape was aided by their colleagues.
As the two engaged in a talk about where he had been, police arrived and ordered everyone to lie down.
Kang’ethe is reported to have tried to resist arrest but was overpowered by 10 police officers who had been sent to arrest him.
Police say they have since established his escape from Muthaiga was well-planned days before.
It all started on Tuesday, February 6, when three people claiming to be his relatives visited him at Muthaiga police station.
They are alleged to have brought him a phone, which was to help him once he got out.
The following day on Wednesday, February 7, in the afternoon, a person claiming to be his lawyer visited him at the station and they were allowed to talk outside the cell.
It is during that moment with the lawyer that Kang’ethe escaped and boarded a matatu on the Thika Superhighway.
Detectives believe Kang’ethe withdrew some cash using that phone which helped him move around and buy stuff he needed until he was cornered on Tuesday night.
Police have established after Kang’ethe landed in the country from the United States he lived in a relative’s house in Buruburu before renting out a place of his own in Westlands where detectives recovered his clothes.
A magistrate’s court Wednesday ordered Kang’ethe to be remanded at Nairobi Remand and Allocation prison pending his extradition proceedings.
Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina allowed the application by the prosecution saying it would be inappropriate to have him remanded at a police station even for his safety.
He said the submissions by the state that he escaped from lawful custody have not been disputed or challenged.
Onyina noted that the court was not informed how he managed to escape, whether he did it on his own or was aided by other persons.
"Based on the circumstances, any escape must be subject to investigations and it would not be proper to have him remanded at Muthaiga or any other police station," Onyina said.
His defence team had asked the court to have him returned at Muthaiga or be detained at any other station but the court said there was no reason to justify him being taken to any police station.
The matter will be mentioned on February 19 for further directions.
Prosecutor Vincent Monda told the court that if the order to have Kang'ethe be detained at the Industrial Area is granted he should only be allowed access to lawyers who are appearing for him and no other lawyer.
Similarly, the court was urged to order that when the lawyers visit him they must be accompanied by an investigator in this matter.
The court was told that if medical attention is necessary, it should be coordinated with government doctors associated with the Industrial Area.
However Kang’ethe through his lawyers unsuccessfully objected to the argument, stating that he faces no charges, adding that the court proceedings focus solely on extradition.
Monda argued that Kang’ethe escaped lawful custody and the law states that a person who has done so has committed a crime.