Tánaiste Micheál Martin has cancelled a visit to a Kenyan township today amid a continuing police operation following the arrest of a suspected serial killer.
The remains of nine women were found 300 metres from a police station in Kware, near Nairobi, where Mr Martin was due to visit an Irish-aided health centre.
The serial killer is believed to be responsible for 42 murders, with some victims understood to be former clients of the health centre.
“It is a shocking story,” Mr Martin said last night. “I think we have to await further details and background to this, but it’s quite shocking.
“One of the strongest contributions we make through our development humanitarian aid is to support women, and that was one of the reasons I was going to the health centre, which was established many years ago by the Medical Missionaries of Mary.”
The news emerged following the arrest of Collins Khalisia (33), who police say has admitted killing 42 women and disposing of their bodies at the Kware dump. However, local reports also include claims he may have been coerced into confessing.
The suspect was trapped in a night-time sting operation as millions watched the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain on TV.
An hour after the final whistle, police surrounded a bar in Kayole as customers were still discussing the match, storming in to arrest one of them.
Khalisia is suspected of dismembering his victims after killing them, with some body parts tipped into what the Kenyan media is calling the “Quarry of Death”.
He told us he killed his wife out of bitterness, that he chopped her up. He is a person full of vengeance and hatred
The suspected murders began in 2022, with the last victim believed to have been killed last Thursday.
Staff at the health centre knew some victims and were shocked at the news, with the local police advising Ireland’s ambassador to Kenya that further raids would take place in the township in a crackdown on gang violence, and shootouts were possible.
Police said they had tracked Khalisia, who made a brief appearance in court yesterday, through his use of mobile phones seized from the victims.
Criminal investigation chief Mohammed Amin said a particular mobile signal had been on their radar, belonging to Josephine Mulongo Owino, one of the victims. It was being used for money transfers.
“That number led detectives to the suspect,” Mr Amin said. “He told us he killed his wife out of bitterness, that he chopped her up and dumped her at Kware. He is a person full of vengeance and hatred.”
Moments before his arrest, police said he was actively luring another victim, a woman identified only as Susan, who has made a police statement.
We believe that this machete is the one that the suspect was using to dismember his victims
Nine bodies had been retrieved from one location by Monday evening, with police saying they have confirmed the presence of many more.
The dump site is within 500 metres of the health centre Mr Martin was due to visit.
Also found were 24 SIM cards, 10 phones, one laptop, a separate hard drive, a machete and 12 nylon sacks, along with rubber gloves, a handbag, nylon ropes and assorted documents.
“We believe that this machete is the one that the suspect was using to dismember his victims. We are likely to arrest more people because we believe he was not acting alone,” Mr Amin said.
By last night, a second man was in custody. He had a phone belonging to a victim.
Mr Martin confirmed he was told he could no longer visit “a facility that we fund and support, which provides extraordinary supports to women and young girls, in particular, in terms of their health”.
He added: “That such an atrocity, multiple atrocities, could have occurred close to that centre is quite shocking.
“There are obviously security challenges here, as there are elsewhere, but we must keep on working and supporting efforts to improve the situation all round.”