Wanted murder suspect Kelving Kang’ethe was arrested on Tuesday at around 9.30 pm nearly a week after escaping from Muthaiga police station.
Kang’ethe attempted to resist arrest but he was overpowered by 10 police officers who came for him after a relative tipped them off.
The fugitive was arrested at the relative’s home in Ngong. According to the relative, who didn’t want to be mentioned, Kang’ethe came to his house wanting to talk to him..
Despite being relatives, the two had been close friends, until Kang’ethe took someone’s life.
“Alikuja akaknock mlango ya mbele akasema anataka kuongea na mimi…wife akaenda kuangalia akaniambia ni yeye, nikajaribu kupigia cousin yangu David juu amekuwa aki coordinate nao alikuwa mteja, nikacall aunty yangu wakaongea na yeye ikakuwa nimhold ndio wafike. Niliona hapo nje alikuwa na wasiwasi ni kama anataka kuenda nikamwambia si tuingie tuvute fegi hapa nyuma uniambie vile kunaenda na ndio basi maofisa wakakuja,” the relative said.
He added that the suspect didn’t to talk much about how he escaped from Muthaiga but only hinted that it was an inside job.
“Hakuniambia exactly, but it was a big thing yaani ni kama inside job, yaani kitu kama hiyo, pia ameelezea OCPD wa Ngong,” added the relative.
At the same time, the relative noted that he couldn’t cover for Kang’ethe because he had put many of his family members in trouble, he had murdered someone he knew and that he had to answer to his crime.
“Huwezi msaidia sana, watu wamekuwa wakimwambia ajipeane na hajakuwa akijiskia,” he noted.
Kang’ethe is said to have been hiding at a family farm in Ngong and would come out at night to visit family and friends.
He is wanted in US for the murder of his girlfriend Margaret Mbitu, whose body was found at an airport in Boston.
Currently, he is being remanded at Industrial Area prison, pending hearing and determination of his extradition to US to answer to the murder charges.
Kang’ethe escaped from Muthaiga on February 7 shortly after his lawyer visited him. The two were allowed to talk outside the cell, a move that provided a leeway for his escape.
On Tuesday 6, three people, who identified themselves as his relatives visited him. They are believed to have left him a phone that would have helped him once he was out of custody.
Milimani Chief Magistrate Hon.Lucas Onyina has today allowed an application by the prosecution seeking to have the fugitive Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kangethe alias Kevin A. Kangethe detained at Industrial Area Remand Prison pending the hearing and determination of an extradition… pic.twitter.com/NQoMsFibyp
— Office of The Director Of Public Prosecutions (@ODPP_KE) February 14, 2024