From FBI Private Jet to US Jail: Case Against Kenyan Murder Suspect
After allegedly murdering his girlfriend in the U.S. last October, a suspect found temporary refuge in Nairobi. However, after nearly a year on the run, he now faces murder charges.
Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kang’ethe is accused of killing his girlfriend, Margaret Mbitu, a home health aide in Halifax, Massachusetts, between October 30 and November 1, 2023.
Authorities allege that after the murder, he abandoned her body in a car at Logan Airport in Boston on October 31 before fleeing to Kenya. His luck ran out last Friday when the FBI apprehended him and transported him back to the U.S. on a private jet.
In court on Tuesday, Kang’ethe pleaded not guilty and was held without bail.
Prosecutors detailed that on October 30, 2023, Kang’ethe took a Lyft from his Lowell residence to Mbitu’s workplace, meeting her as she finished her shift around 11 p.m.
He allegedly drove her back home in a car registered to him but used by the victim at the time, after picking her up from work.
Brutal Attack
Prosecutors claim that between leaving her workplace and arriving at his home, Kang’ethe “brutally attacked” Mbitu in the car with a knife, inflicting numerous sharp force injuries. She sustained at least 10 wounds to her face and neck alone.
Kang’ethe then allegedly drove around looking for a place to dispose of her body, all while answering calls from her family and coworkers, who inquired about her whereabouts.
He reportedly told them she had suffered an injury and was unable to come to the phone. Eventually, he discarded her cell phone in a dumpster in Chelsea. Investigators later used the phone to track him down and gather surveillance footage.
Kang’ethe kept her body in the front seat of the tinted car for approximately 30 hours before abandoning the vehicle at Logan Airport.
When Mbitu’s body was discovered, it was positioned face down in the front seat with the seat reclined, partially concealed by random items.
In court on Tuesday, the victim’s family was visibly distraught as prosecutors recounted the events leading up to her death.
Kang’ethe is scheduled to return to court on November 5 for a pretrial hearing.
FBI in Kenya
The Nation has learned that U.S. authorities covertly arrived in Kenya on Friday, August 30, 2024, and swiftly extradited the murder suspect.
According to sources close to the operation, the Americans acted on extradition orders from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and, under the cover of darkness, received the suspect from Kenyan authorities. They departed the country shortly after landing.
Kang’ethe was reportedly handcuffed and shackled before boarding a U.S. Department of Justice/Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) jet to Boston.
The jet departed Nairobi on Friday night, August 30, and landed at Boston Logan International Airport on Saturday morning, as confirmed by Flighttrack radar24, a global flight monitoring service.
On Monday, the FBI confirmed that Kang’ethe arrived in the U.S. on Saturday morning, although this contradicts a statement from the DPP’s office, which claimed he left Kenya on Sunday, September 1.
“FBI special agents, along with a Massachusetts State trooper assigned to FBI Boston’s Violent Crimes Task Force, escorted Kangethe from Nairobi to Logan International Airport on a flight that arrived Saturday evening. The FBI leveraged its international resources to bring him back to Massachusetts and has transferred custody of Kangethe to the Massachusetts State Police,” the FBI stated on September 2, 2024.
However, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) issued a conflicting statement on the same day, stating that the fugitive departed Nairobi on Sunday.
Mission Accomplished
On Monday, the Boston Division of the FBI and the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office announced Kang’ethe’s successful extradition from Nairobi.
“Great teamwork! He is heading back to face justice! Thank you all,” read a caption beneath a photo of Kang’ethe being escorted to a private jet by FBI detectives, likely taken on Friday night.
The photo shows Kang’ethe, with his back to the camera, wearing a navy blue jumper and blue headphones as he ascends the stairs with FBI detectives and officers from the DPP’s office.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, in collaboration with Kenyan authorities including the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and ODPP, secured Kang’ethe’s arrest and extradition. This effort was supported by the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in Nairobi, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service’s Boston Field Office and Regional Security Office–Nairobi, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“Following an investigation by the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, an arrest warrant was issued for Kangethe out of Chelsea District Court on November 2, 2023, charging him with murder,” the statement said.
The FBI added that on November 3, 2023, they obtained a federal arrest warrant from the United States District Court in Massachusetts, charging Kangethe with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. This came after learning that he had fled the U.S. on October 31, 2023, after purchasing a one-way ticket to Nairobi, Kenya.
In a statement on Monday, the victim’s family expressed gratitude to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden for his office’s efforts in securing Kang’ethe’s extradition.
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“Our family has been notified by District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office that the process for bringing justice for our beloved Maggie will continue tomorrow with the arraignment of the person charged with her murder,” Mbitu’s family stated on Monday.
“We are deeply grateful to the District Attorney, investigators, police, and victim advocates who have supported our family and are ensuring Maggie’s killer is held responsible,” the statement continued.
Kang’ethe, 40, is accused of violently attacking Mbitu, stabbing her multiple times in the face and neck, leading to her death before fleeing to Kenya.
Following the murder, a district court in Chelsea, Massachusetts, issued a warrant for his arrest, which was followed by an extradition request to DPP Renson Ingonga.
Kang’ethe was initially arrested on January 30, 2024, in Parklands, Nairobi County, but escaped custody before being re-arrested.
Mbitu, a home healthcare aide in Halifax, went missing after work on October 30, 2023, prompting her family to launch a search. A preliminary investigation revealed that she left her workplace with Kang’ethe, traveling to his home in Lowell.
Her family reported her missing to the Whitman Police Department, who later sought assistance from the Massachusetts State Police.
Authorities discovered that Mbitu and Kang’ethe had traveled in a white Toyota Venza on the morning of October 31, 2023. The following day, her body was found in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
Nairobi Hideout
After fleeing to Kenya, Kang’ethe hid in various Nairobi suburbs, using different phone numbers to contact friends and family in the U.S. and Kenya.
Following his initial arrest in Kenya, Kang’ethe escaped from Muthaiga Police Station under mysterious circumstances. Police stated that he escaped during a meeting with a man who claimed to be his lawyer.
While on the run, his family held a meeting and decided to aid in his capture.
When Kang’ethe arrived at a cousin’s rented house, his family members alerted the police.
“There was no way we could allow him to escape again because his earlier escape caused many problems. As law-abiding citizens, we decided that if anyone found him, we would hand him over,” a family member told the Nation at the time.
The successful extradition followed a commitment from DPP Renson Ingonga to FBI Director Christopher Wray in June 2024, ensuring that justice would be served swiftly in this case.
From FBI Private Jet to US Jail; Case Against Kenyan Murder Suspect
