Kenyan police said Wednesday they had recaptured a man they arrested for the alleged murder of his girlfriend in the United States, but who then escaped, making headlines.
Detained at a police station awaiting extradition to the United States for the murder of Margaret Mbitu, whose body was found last year in an airport parking lot, Kevin Kang’ethe had escaped last week.
“We have re-arrested the suspect and he is now in custody,” Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei told AFP.
He said Kevin Kang’ethe was hiding at a relative’s house in the suburbs of Nairobi, where police found him late Tuesday after a several-day manhunt.
“He will now appear in court to answer charges of escaping from lawful custody awaiting extradition,” he said.
His escape had been an affront to police, with Mr Bungei describing the events as “embarrassing”.
American and Kenyan authorities launched a manhunt after Margaret Mbitu was found stabbed to death in a parking lot at Boston’s Logan Airport in November.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Kang’ethe after he fled the United States for his native Kenya, where he was arrested in late January.
The police said that the suspect, aged 40 or 41 according to media reports, had taken off taking advantage of being taken from his cell last Wednesday for an interview with his lawyer.
At the time of the escape, the police station commander was holding a meeting in his office with police officers specializing in the fight against crime, police said, adding that officers had launched a pursuit of the man without success. to catch it.
Four police officers, two family members and Kevin Kang’ethe’s lawyer were arrested for questioning in connection with his escape and remain in custody.
