Two weeks after dropping his lawyers, fugitive murder suspect Kevin Kang’ethe now says the State is violating his fundamental rights by detaining him at the Industrial Area Remand Prison.

Through his new lawyer, Kang’ethe told Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina that by continuing to detain him, the State is going against the spirit of an application filed before the court on January 29, 2024.

In this miscellaneous application, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had sought to detain the suspect for 30 days as they conclude on his extradition process.

So what transpired?

On the said 29th January, Kang’ethe was arraigned before Senior Principal Magistrate Zainabu Abdul, who granted DPP’s prayers to detain him for 30 days at Muthaiga Police Station.

But under unclear circumstances, Kang’ethe escaped from custody at Muthaiga Police Station.

Kang’ethe, who is wanted in the U.S for the alleged murder of Maggie Mbitu, was re-arrested days later.

Now, the lawyer told the court that prosecution has not applied for an extension of the 30-day detention, which technically expired on February 29, 2024.

‘Always in handcuffs‘

The lawyer also lamented that his client is being treated as a convict, kept always in handcuffs, even when going about his daily routine within the facility.

In her response, State Propsecutor Magdalene Nduati told the court that Kang’ethe’s escape from Muthaiga Police Station is the cause for all these.

“Your Honour, because of the suspect’s conduct in escaping from Muthaiga Police Station, we filed an affidavit before this court requesting that he be remanded at Industrial Area Medium Prison until the matter of his bail and extradition is determined,” Nduati told the court.

Also, the prosecution did not oppose defence lawyer’s request to be allowed to speak to Kang’ethe as well as have access to the case file.

Magistrate Onyina, on Wednesday, March 13, granted Kang’ethe 21 more days to file a formal application for release on bail/bond terms pending extradition proceedings.