A Nairobi court on Wednesday allowed an application by the state for the extradition of Kevin Kang’ethe, who is wanted in the US for the murder of his girlfriend.
Kang’ethe will be extradited to the USA to face a first-degree murder charge for allegedly killing his then-girlfriend and fleeing to Kenya.
Kang’ethe is alleged to have murdered his girlfriend, Margaret Mbitu, in Massachusetts in the United States of America between October 30 and November 4 last year.
Milimani Chief Magistrate Lukas Onyina ruled that the material laid before the court established a link between Kang’ethe and the alleged offence of first-degree murder.
Magistrate Onyina further noted that the court, not being a trial court, is not mandated to conduct a trial to hear and determine the case against Kang’ethe.
Kang’ethe had opposed the application by the DPP to have him extradited back to the US.
Onyina further noted that the alleged offence against Kang’ethe, to which the extradition request and the Authority to Proceed pertain, meets the criminality test.
“I therefore agree with the submissions made by counsel for the applicant that the dual criminality test has been met,” the court noted.
The court said that there is justification to have Kang’ethe extradited to the US.
According to police reports, Kang’ethe stabbed Mbitu multiple times in the face and neck and left her in a locked car in a parking garage at Boston Logan International Airport, before taking a one-way ticket to Kenya.