Sancho Kibutu faces sentencing in California following his extradition from Kenya.
Kenyan authorities handed Kibutu to US officials after his Nairobi arrest, ending a 13-year search following his California conviction.
The Sancho Kibutu extradition has returned a Kenyan fugitive to California for sentencing over gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. The Director of Public Prosecutions said Kenyan officers handed him over to US authorities in Nairobi.
Officers from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and Directorate of Criminal Investigations handled the handover. Kibutu had failed to attend sentencing after his conviction in California in 2013.
Sancho Kibutu extradition followed Nairobi arrest
Authorities arrested Kibutu in Nairobi on September 9, 2026, after he spent 13 years as a fugitive. The subsequent extradition process took four weeks through Kenyan courts, with the DPP and other agencies facilitating it.
Kibutu also uses the names Sancho Kibuto and Njoroge Kibuto, the ODPP said. He now faces sentencing for the offence that led to his conviction on September 19, 2013.
After he failed to appear for sentencing, a court issued a bench warrant on October 28, 2013. He remained at large until his arrest in Kenya.
California crash killed teenage passenger
Court records show Kibutu was 32 when he drove along Golden State Boulevard and crossed a double yellow line. His vehicle then collided with another vehicle, killing a 16-year-old passenger.
The crash also injured the other vehicle’s driver and two additional occupants. The conviction concerned gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Following the handover, the ODPP said the extradition reflected its commitment to international cooperation in criminal justice. It also said such cooperation ensures that people wanted in other jurisdictions appear before the relevant authorities in accordance with the law.
