Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi has given the Office of the Directorate of Public prosecutions green light to extradite murder suspect Kevin Kang’ethe to face trial in the USA over the alleged murder of his girlfriend Margaret Mbitu.
Chief magistrate Lucas Onyina in his ruling today said that the alleged offence of murder to which the Extradition Request and the Authority to Proceed relate meets legal test to allow the extradition application.
The court further said the material evidence presented before the court established a link between Kang’ethe and the alleged offence of first-degree murder, and the court, not being a trial court, is not mandated to conduct a trial to determine his guilt or otherwise.
“That will be the mandate of the trial court, not this court handling these extradition proceedings,” Onyina said.
The ruling further said there are established reasons to justify the surrender of the respondent to the United States to face trial for the offence of first-degree murder in violation of Massachusetts General Laws.
“The application is therefore allowed of prayer number 2, which specifically the Respondent is hereby ordered to be returned and/or conveyed out of Kenya and surrendered in the United States of America to face charges of the alleged first-degree murder in violation of Massachusettes General Law, Chapter 265, section 1, for which he was formally charged by criminal complaint in Case No, 23 CR-2559 in the District Court in Chelsea, Massachusetts” ruled the Court.
The ODPP had urged the court to permit them to surrender Kang’ethe for the murder.
