Kenyan police have arrested Collins Jomaisi Khalusha, described as a “serial killer” suspected of the gruesome murders of nine women whose mutilated bodies were found in a disused quarry used as a rubbish dump.
Police say the 33-year-old Khalusha confessed to killing 42 women since 2022, including his own wife.
The arrest took place early on Monday morning at a bar where Khalusha was watching the Euro final.
The discovery of the dismembered bodies at the Mukuru quarry in Nairobi on Friday has caused shock and outrage in Kenya.
Mohamed Amin, head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), stated, “[He] confessed to have lured, killed and disposed of 42 female bodies at the dumping site, all murdered between 2022 and as recent as Thursday.”
Many Kenyans are questioning how 42 murders could occur over two years without police intervention. After his arrest, Khalusha led police officers to his house, located about 100 meters from the crime scene.
Items recovered from the suspect’s house included 10 phones, a laptop, identity cards, personal female clothing, a machete believed to have been used to dismember the victims, and nine sacks similar to those used to dispose of the bodies.
Since Friday, police have cordoned off the dumpsite where the bodies were found in various stages of decomposition.
The victims, aged between 18 and 30, were all killed in the same manner, according to the police. While authorities have confirmed nine bodies found so far, local residents believe the number is higher.
Joseph Waweru, involved in retrieving the bodies, told the media he had counted 16, all severely dismembered.
Police are still interrogating Khalusha to determine the motive for the killings, and he is scheduled to be arraigned in court on Tuesday.
His arrest followed a “forensic analysis” of a mobile phone belonging to one of the victims, Josephine Mulongo Owino, which showed some mobile money transactions conducted on the day she went missing.
Post-mortem examinations on the bodies are ongoing, and police have asked families who suspect their loved ones may have been victims to report to the authorities.
“It is crystallising that we are dealing with a serial killer, a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life, who has no respect and dignity,” said Amin.
Emmanuel Ogongo, whose sister went missing on 28 June, identified a body from the dump site that matched her hairstyle and outfit, though only the torso was found.
Another person with a phone belonging to one of the victims has been arrested and is being treated as either an accomplice or a suspect.
Kenya’s police watchdog is investigating potential police involvement in the crimes, as the dumpsite is close to a police station.
Officers working there have been transferred to ensure “fair and unbiased investigations” into the “heinous” deaths, according to acting police chief Douglas Kanja.
The Independent Police Oversight Authority is conducting a preliminary investigation due to “widespread allegations of police involvement in unlawful arrests [and] abductions.”
Hussein Khalid, head of the Haki Africa campaign group, emphasized that police need to address how the murders occurred so close to a police station.
The discovery of these bodies comes at a challenging time for Kenya’s police. Human rights groups have accused them of shooting dozens of people during protests against planned tax rises earlier this month, some fatally.
Many Kenyans are demanding that police investigate the allegations of abductions and killings from the protests as thoroughly as they have investigated the Mukuru deaths.
Kenya’s police chief Japhet Koome resigned on Friday, a day after President William Ruto fired his entire cabinet following the deadly protests.
The Mukuru killings highlight ongoing concerns about police failures to effectively deal with crime, especially as the murders occurred near a police station.
Some Kenyans are also questioning the police’s inability to solve the murder of Rita Waeni, whose dismembered body was found earlier this year at a short-term rental apartment in Nairobi.
Waeni’s brutal murder had already ignited an online campaign urging the protection of women and girls.
Last year, Kenyans were horrified by the discovery of hundreds of remains associated with a doomsday cult in Malindi, a coastal town.
Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, the cult leader, went on trial in Mombasa last week on charges of terrorism and murder over the deaths of more than 440 of his followers.
Source-BBC
