Police in Kenya have arrested a 29-year-old man found carrying a mutilated body in his backpack, which he allegedly claimed belonged to his 19-year-old wife.
The suspect, identified as John Kiama Wambua, was intercepted by officers patrolling Huruma, an area east of Nairobi, just before dawn.
According to a statement from Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the officers became suspicious of Wambua and decided to search his bag.
“To their shock,” they discovered dismembered body parts. The DCI described the discovery as “gruesome” and “heinous.”
When interrogated, Wambua reportedly admitted the remains were those of his wife, Joy Fridah Munani, and appeared “unperturbed” by the officers’ findings.
He later led authorities to his home, where investigators recovered additional evidence, including a knife, blood-soaked clothes, and more body parts hidden under a bed.
The suspect is expected to face murder charges in an upcoming court hearing. The DCI condemned the act, emphasizing the need for justice.
This incident is not an isolated case in Kenya, a country with one of the highest femicide rates in Africa. Between August and October 2023, at least 97 women were killed, according to Kenya’s National Police Service.
In December of that year, hundreds of women demonstrated in Nairobi against the alarming rise in femicides, though police reportedly dispersed the protests with teargas.
Several high-profile cases have fueled public outrage. In September 2024, Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei was killed by her former partner, dying days after being set on fire at her home in western Kenya.
Earlier in the year, a young woman named Rita Waeni was brutally murdered, dismembered, and stuffed into a plastic bag at a short-term rental apartment.
Additionally, police arrested Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, a suspected “serial killer,” after nine mutilated bodies were found in a disused quarry. However, Khalusha escaped custody a month later and remains at large.
The DCI continues to investigate such cases, urging vigilance and community efforts to combat the surge in gender-based violence.
Source-BBC
