Kenya has extradited Sancho Kibutu to the United States to face sentencing for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, more than 13 years after he failed to appear in court following his conviction in California, Kenya's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said on Friday, October 23.
Source: People Daily
The ODPP said Kibutu was formally handed over to US authorities in Nairobi by officers from the ODPP and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and flown to California. The handover followed a request by the US Department of Justice through the US Embassy in Nairobi, and the ODPP said the process through the Kenyan courts took four weeks, Y News also reported.
Source: Y News
The California case
Court records cited in the extradition proceedings say Kibutu, then aged 32, was driving along Golden State Boulevard in Madera County when he crossed a double yellow line and collided with another vehicle. A 16-year-old passenger in the other vehicle was killed, and the driver and two other occupants were injured. Awaaz Punjab does not name the minor victim.
Kibutu was convicted by the Superior Court of California in Madera County under Section 191.5(a) of the California Penal Code on September 19, 2013. He was required to return for sentencing on October 28 that year, failed to appear, and a bench warrant was issued, according to the ODPP account reported by both outlets.
Convicted in Madera County, California, in 2013; failed to appear for sentencing and a bench warrant was issued; arrested in Nairobi on September 9, 2026; extradition through Kenyan courts took four weeks; handed to US authorities on October 23, 2026.
Kibutu, also known as Njoroge Kibuto, was arrested in Nairobi on September 9, 2026, and presented before the Milimani Law Courts. On September 25, the ODPP announced it had secured an extradition order. The ODPP has not disclosed the date of the sentencing hearing in California.
The ODPP said the case shows cooperation between Kenya and the United States in returning people wanted for criminal proceedings to the jurisdiction where those proceedings are outstanding, in accordance with the law.