Prosecutors handling Kelvin Kangethe's case are embarking on the extradition process for the fugitive wanted in the United States for the murder of a woman whose body was found hidden in a car at Logan Airport.
Following his arrest five days ago, Kangethe was presented for the first time before a Nairobi court on Monday where murder charges were leveled against him.
The magistrate postponed the hearing to next week, February 27, and directed that Kangethe should be held in police custody before his arraignment.
Prosecutors are, therefore, hopeful that the court will grant them a go-ahead to extradite the 40-year-old who is said to have shot his girlfriend in November last year before fleeing to Kenya.
The family of the slain Margaret Mbitu flew to Kenya to attend the court proceedings, hoping to secure justice for its daughter.
Kenya and the US share an extradition treaty, since 1931, allowing individuals arrested in either country to be surrendered for prosecution or punishment for crimes committed.
If found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Margaret Mbitu, Kangethe risks being jailed for a lifetime without the option of parole according to the State of Massachusetts law.
The law adds that second-degree murder attracts a life sentence with the option of parole. Voluntary manslaughter, on the other hand, attracts a jail term of 20 years.
Kangethe was arrested on Valentine's Eve following an operation by a contingent of 11 police officers in the Ngong area on the outskirts of Nairobi City.
Senior officers at the station received a tip-off from the public about the suspect's whereabouts, tracked him down, and laid a trap that led to his arrest.
"The officers who laid an ambush at Ngong township Map BJ 331448 about 3km west of the station (cmm) managed to arrest one Kelvin Kinyanjui Kangethe who had escaped from Muthaiga Police Station on 7/2/2024," read the police report in part.
Kangethe had escaped from the Muthaiga Police Station a week earlier triggering an intense manhunt.
