NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan man wanted in Massachusetts to face murder charges has been extradited nearly a year after he fled the United States, authorities said Monday.
Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kangethe is wanted for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Margaret Mbitu, whose body was found in a car at Logan International Airport in Boston on Oct. 31.
Kangethe left Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on Sunday, and he's set to face murder charges at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston on Tuesday, Kenyan Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga said.
“I wish to reiterate my commitment and support, whenever needed, to the United States of America, and in particular the prosecution team as they proceed with the next phase of the case,” Ingonga said Monday.
The prosecution said that the extradition order has earlier been issued by the court in July.
Kangethe, who has renounced his U.S. citizenship, was involved in a dramatic escape from a police cell after his Kenyan lawyer visited him in January. Disciplinary action was taken against four police officers who were on duty when he escaped. He was rearrested a week later, and his extradition case continued.
Kangethe’s girlfriend Mbitu was a health care aide in Halifax, Massachusetts, and was last seen leaving work on Oct. 30 and reported missing by her family.
The preliminary investigation showed Mbitu had left her workplace and traveled with Kangethe to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he lived, the prosecution in Kenya said during the extradition case hearing.
Kangethe was also found in possession of personal items belonging to the deceased, prosecutors said.
FILE - Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kangethe is escorted out of the courtroom at the Milimani law court in Nairobi, Kenya, on Feb. 14, 2024. A Kenyan man wanted in Massachusetts to face murder charges has been extradited nearly a year after he fled the United States. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Sphere, Las Vegas' transformational new masterpiece, stole the show Saturday night at UFC 306, but Merab Dvalishvili put on a performance not to be forgotten in capturing the bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision over Sean O'Malley.
The judges scored it 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 in favor of Dvalishvili (18-4), a 33-year-old from the country of Georgia. He used a ground-and-pound attack to control most of the action against O'Malley (18-2).
O'Malley, 29, who lives in Phoenix, was a slight -125 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook.
Valentina Shevchenko reclaimed the women's flyweight championship with all three judges awarding her a 50-45 victory over Alexa Grasso in the co-main event.
This was the third consecutive meeting between the two after Grasso took Shevchenko's belt in the first match. The second was a draw.
The third one wasn't closer, with the 36-year-old Shevchenko (24-4-1) using a ground-and-pound strategy to win all three rounds over 31-year-old Grasso (16-4-1) on the judges' cards.
“It's so huge," said Shevchenko, who is from Kyrgyzstan. "It like a dream come true fighting in the Sphere.”
This show at the Sphere was unlike any show in the UFC's history, taking full advantage of the 160,000-square-foot high-definition LED screen to create an outer-space type feel as the pay-per-view portion of the card was about to begin.
UFC President Dana White called this card his “love letter to Mexico,” and mini stories of the neighboring country's history and culture as part of a celebration of the country’s Independence Day weekend were told on the screen throughout the evening. One created the illusion the arena was moving as the video played out.
Seven Mexican fighters, including Grasso, populated the card, and chants from the crowd of “Mexico” broke out several times.
Aztec pyramids seeming to hover over one contest in the octagon changed from night to morning. Another fight took place with a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday scene that included dressed up male and female skeletons lighting up the screen. Other matches had similar scenes dominating the background.
The screen was used throughout to introduce a tell-of-the-tape of each fighter, and highlights were shown on the building's exterior.
White has said this is a one-and-done given the overwhelming undertaking to put together the show as well as the roughly $20 million cost. To help pay for it, White secured a title sponsor for the first time for one of his PPV cards, making the official name Riyadh Season Noche UFC.
But White has waffled as the event approached, and it's possible the UFC will have future cards at the Sphere, those the organization is contractually obligated to MGM Resorts, which includes T-Mobile Arena. An exception was made for this night and perhaps there will be more.
T-Mobile had its own tribute to Mexican Independence Day three miles away with Canelo Alvarez winning by unanimous decision as the headline fighter.
UFC's in-house production team crew worked with Antigravity Academy production led by founder and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Carlos López Estrada to put together this event.
Heavyweight champion Jon Jones, considered by many to be the greatest fighter in UFC history, will face Stipe Miocic in UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at New York's Madison Square Garden. Jones has not fought since moving up from light heavyweight to claim the heavyweight crown with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane on March 4, 2023.
Jones, who was in the crowd wearing a black cowboy hat, and Miocic were scheduled to fight last year, but a pectoral injury forced Jones to postpone.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Attendees watch Yazmin Jauregui fights Ketlen Souza in a women's strawweight mixed martial arts bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Attendees wait for the main mixed martial arts event during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Valentina Shevchenko, right, fights Alexa Grasso in a women's flyweight mixed martial arts title bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sep. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Valentina Shevchenko celebrates after defeating Alexa Grasso in a women's flyweight mixed martial arts title bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili appear on screen during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sep. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
