A man dubbed a “serial killer” by Kenyan police has been taken into custody. He is said to have been responsible for the horrific murder of nine women, the mutilated bodies of whom were discovered in an abandoned quarry that was being used as a trash dump.
Collins Jomaisi Khalusha, 33, reportedly admitted to the police that he had killed 42 women since 2022, including his own wife.
While watching the Euro final on Monday morning, the suspect was taken into custody in a bar.
Since the first of the mutilated bodies was discovered on Friday at the Mukuru quarry in Nairobi’s capital, there has been horror and indignation throughout Kenya.
Mohamed Amin, the head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), stated, “[He] confessed to having lured, killed, and disposed of 42 female bodies at the dumping site, all murdered between 2022 and as recent as Thursday.”
Many Kenyans are perplexed as to how 42 murders could occur over the course of two years without the police becoming involved.
According to Mr. Amin, the suspect took police to his home, which was roughly 100 meters (yards) from the scene of the incident, after being apprehended.
A laptop, identity cards, ten phones, and personal female attire were among the goods the police allegedly discovered from the suspect’s home and showed to the media.
Nine sacks similar to the ones used to dispose of the bodies were also discovered, along with a machete that they “believed was being used to dismember the victims.”
Police have surrounded the dumpsite where the bodies, which were discovered in varying states of decomposition, since Friday.
The victims, aged 18 to 30, were all killed similarly, according to police. Nine bodies have been found in the quarry, but locals claim there are 16. Joseph Waweru, involved in retrieving the bodies, counted 16 severely dismembered bodies. Police are interrogating the suspect, who will appear in court on Tuesday, to determine the motive. His arrest followed a forensic analysis of a victim’s phone. Post-mortem exams are underway. Families with missing loved ones are urged to contact the police. Mr. Amin said they are dealing with a psychopathic serial killer.
Emmanuel Ogongo, whose sister went missing on 28 June, said he had identified a body from the dump site that looked like her.
He said the body had the same hairstyle and outfit she was wearing when she disappeared.
Only the torso has been found so far.
A second person with a phone belonging to one of the victims has also been arrested and would be treated either as an accomplice or suspect, he said.
Kenya’s police watchdog earlier said it was investigating whether there was any police involvement in the crimes as the dumpsite is close to a police station.
The officers working there have been transferred, to ensure “fair and unbiased investigations” into the “heinous” deaths, the acting police chief, Douglas Kanja said earlier.
The Independent Police Oversight Authority said “widespread allegations of police involvement in unlawful arrests [and] abductions” meant it was undertaking a preliminary investigation to establish whether there was any police connection.
Hussein Khalid, head of the Haki Africa campaign group, told the BBC that police need to address how the murders happened just metres from a police station.
The discovery of these bodies comes at a difficult time for Kenya’s police.
Human rights groups have accused the police of shooting dozens of people who were demonstrating against planned tax rises earlier this month, some of them fatally.
Many Kenyans are calling for the police to investigate the allegations of abductions and killings from the protests as quickly as they have investigated the Mukuru deaths.
On Friday, Kenya’s police chief Japhet Koome resigned, a day after President William Ruto fired his entire cabinet in the wake of the deadly protests.
The killings are being seen as the latest police failure to adequately deal with crime especially as it happened so close to a police station.
Some Kenyans are questioning why the police have been unable to solve the death of Rita Waeni, whose dismembered body was found earlier this year at a short-term rental apartment in Nairobi.
Like the latest gruesome deaths, Waeni’s brutal murder shocked and angered many Kenyans. It ignited an online campaign urging the protection of women and girls.
Last year Kenyans were horrified after the remains of hundreds of people associated with a doomsday cult were discovered in the Indian Ocean coastal town of Malindi.
Paul Nthenge Mackenzie went on trial in Mombasa earlier last week on charges of terrorism and murder over the deaths of more than 440 of his followers.
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