- On July 31 this year, Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina okayed the extradition request.
- The Suffolk Superior Court in Pemberton Square, Boston, denied him bond terms with the matter being scheduled for pre-trial on November 5 at 2pm.
Image: Massachusetts State Police
The story of Kelvin Kang'ethe serves as a stark reminder of the far reaching consequences of one's actions and the unyielding escape from justice.
Kang'ethe, 41, fled to his motherland Kenya sometime last year after allegedly killing his girlfriend Margaret Mbitu in the US.
Reports indicate that he killed her and left her body in a car at Boston's Logan International Airport.
It is said that detectives were able to link him to the crime based on security footage that captured him leaving the airport's parking lot where Margaret's body was found.
His decision to board a flight to Kenya afterwards left detectives with clues of where their prime suspect had fled to.
A warrant for his arrest was issued by a District court in Chelsea, Massachusetts, followed by an extradition request made to DPP boss, Renson Ingonga.
What followed was Kang'ethewas arrested on January 30, 2024, in Parklands, Nairobi, but he managed to escape from lawful custody before being re-arrested.
Four police officers who were on duty at the time of his vain escape were interdicted.
Witnesses said Kang'ethe was barefoot when he ran out of the station and took a matatu to Thika town.
He was re-arrested days later in Ngong where he had gone to his cousin's home to seek refuge.
Kang'ethe was then placed in custody awaiting the court hearing touching over his extradition.
On July 31 this year, Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina okayed the extradition request.
The seriousness of the offence and the evidence against him facilitated his return to the US.
Among the documents the DPP relied on was a copy of the extradition treaty between Kenya and the United States.
The court in its decision said there was nothing restricting the surrender of Kang'ethe to US authorities to face trial over the murder.
"From the material before us, there's no indication that the offence for which he is sought to be surrendered to the US is of political character or that it is triable in Kenya," Onyina said.
The judge added that the information provided to court established a link between Kang'ethe and the alleged offence of the first degree murder.
"This court not being a trial court is not mandated to conduct a trial to determine his guilt or otherwise. This will be the mandate of the trial court not the court handling the extradition proceedings," Justice Onyina said.
With this, Kang'ethe was extradited and has since denied the charges levelled against him.
He was arraigned before the Suffolk Superior Court in Pemberton Square, Boston, on September 3, 2024.
The Boston court denied him bond terms with the matter being scheduled for pre-trial on November 5 at 2pm.
In an update by the Director of Public Prosecution's office, this was after pleading not guilty to the murder of Margaret Mbitu.
"The court ruled he will be held without bail, without prejudice," the DPP said.