A Grim Discovery: Kenyan Police Capture Alleged Serial Killer
On Monday, Kenyan authorities announced the capture of a suspected serial killer who confessed to the brutal murders of 42 women, including his own spouse, whose dismembered remains he discarded at a Nairobi waste disposal site.
Since last Friday, law enforcement has uncovered nine disfigured bodies, swaddled in plastic wrapping, at a garbage dump in the Mukuru slum located south of Nairobi. This harrowing revelation has sent shockwaves throughout the nation.
Acting Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja disclosed that Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, a 33-year-old man, was arrested around 3 a.m. (12 a.m. GMT) Monday. He was apprehended near a Nairobi bar while watching the Euro 2024 football finals.
“We are confronting a serial killer, a disturbed individual devoid of respect for life,” stated Mohamed Amin, head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), during a press briefing.
“He’s a real-life vampire, a true psychopath,” he added, emphasizing the severity of the case.
Amin further revealed Khalusha’s chilling admission: the murders spanned from 2022 to July 11 of the current year.
“The suspect confessed to ensnaring, slaying, and disposing of 42 female bodies at that dumping ground,” he noted somberly.
“Regrettably, it’s incredibly tragic. The first victim he mentioned was his wife… whom he strangled to death, then dismembered and discarded at the same location,” he elaborated.
Tracking the Lure
Khalusha was apprehended thanks to an investigative effort sparked by analyzing the mobile phone of one victim, according to Amin. This collaboration between the DCI and the National Police Service proved crucial.
As officers descended upon him, “he was actively in the midst of trying to lure another victim,” Amin stated.
The suspect went so far as to admit having had “carnal relations” with some of his victims.
A search of his humble one-room residence, situated a mere 100 meters from where the bodies were discovered, yielded some disturbing evidence. Investigators found a machete, plastic bags, a length of rope, a pair of industrial rubber gloves, a pink women’s handbag, and two pairs of female undergarments.
The sites will remain “active crime scenes,” Amin confirmed, promising that a meticulous investigation will ensue.
As it stands, authorities have retrieved nine mutilated bodies from the site, with Kanja declaring that autopsies would begin on the victims Monday. So far, eight have been positively identified as female.
In an unexpected twist, a second suspect was arrested for being in possession of a phone belonging to one of the deceased.
Scrutiny on Law Enforcement
The grim discoveries have elevated scrutiny on the Kenyan police and added pressure on President William Ruto, who is already navigating a crisis fueled by widespread anti-government protests that resulted in multiple fatalities among demonstrators.
The Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) in Kenya announced on Friday that it had launched an investigation to determine if police had any involvement in the macabre situation at the landfill, especially since it’s located just 100 meters from a police station.
IPOA is also probing whether authorities failed to act and allowed these horrific murders to transpire.
Kanja, having just stepped into his role amid a backlash from recent protest-related deaths, told reporters that all officers stationed nearby had been reassigned.
Nevertheless, tensions ran high at the crime scene throughout the weekend as locals volunteered to sift through heaps of refuse, hoping to locate additional victims.
A brief altercation flared up when individuals attempted to transport a recovered bag from the dump to the police station, only to be met with volleys of tear gas, as reported by an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent on-site.
Human rights organizations frequently accuse Kenyan police of employing excessive force, engaging in extrajudicial killings, or operating clandestine hit squads, yet few ever face accountability.
