The Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office announce the successful extradition from Nairobi, Kenya, of Kevin Kangethe, who fled the country to avoid prosecution for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Margaret Mbitu. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs worked with Kenyan authorities, including Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of Kenya, to secure Kangethe’s arrest and extradition, with the assistance of 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.

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. He is scheduled to appear in Suffolk Superior Court sometime on Tuesday.

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 following day, investigators learned that Kangethe fled the United States on October 31, 2023, after purchasing a one-way airline ticket to Nairobi, Kenya. The FBI obtained a federal arrest warrant issued by the United States District Court in Massachusetts on November 3, 2023, charging Kangethe with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Kenyan authorities apprehended Kangethe on January 29, 2024, at the request of the United States. Kangethe escaped custody a few days later before Kenyan authorities located and re-arrested him. Kangethe remained in custody in Nairobi pending his extradition this week.

The FBI continues to work with its law enforcement partners to apprehend violent criminals charged with state crimes who flee the jurisdiction, interstate or internationally. Photos and descriptions of many fugitives wanted by the FBI can be found at www.fbi.gov. Anyone with information is urged to contact their local FBI office, United States embassy, or submit information online at tips.fbi.gov.

Questions regarding Kangethe’s detention and pending prosecution should be directed to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.