While police claim a suspect confessed to killing 42 women, a watchdog investigates possible police links to the bodies.
A Kenyan man suspected of being a “serial killer” appeared in a Nairobi court this week after police charged him with multiple murders following the discovery of the dismembered remains of nine people.
Police arrested Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, early on Monday and arraigned him the next day, linking him to the bodies that were found floating in an abandoned quarry in a Nairobi slum on Friday.
Khalusha, officials said, confessed to murdering 42 women, with the first victim allegedly being his wife.
“We are dealing with a serial killer, a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life, who has no respect and dignity,” Kenyan police investigations director Mohamed Amin told reporters on Monday.
However, the suspect’s lawyer, John Maina Ndegwa, said in court on Tuesday that Khalusha was “tortured” into making the statement. Prosecutors denied these allegations.
The discoveries have shone another spotlight on Kenya’s police and added more pressure on President William Ruto, who is struggling to contain a crisis spurred on by widespread antigovernment protests that have seen dozens of demonstrators killed.
Here’s what we know about the case so far:
What happened to the victims?
Nine dismembered and decomposing bodies were found in sacks between Friday and Monday at the Mukuru quarry, which is now used as a rubbish dump. Local searchers working with the police told reporters they counted more than nine bodies.
Police said the victims included eight women, while it was not clear if the ninth deceased was male or female. All were aged between 18 and 30 and were killed in the same way. Police said the murders started in 2022, and the most recent killing was on last Thursday.
The discoveries began after a woman paid locals to comb the quarry in search of her sister, Josephine Owino, who went missing on June 26. The searchers noticed the sacks and alerted the police. Owino’s fate remains unclear as none of the recovered bodies has been identified as her.
Police zeroed in on Khalusha as a suspect after an analysis of money transfers made on a mobile phone belonging to one of the victims, officials said.
A raid on Khalusha’s house, which police said was about 100 metres (110 yards) from the dump site, revealed 10 mobile phones, female clothing, a machete, and sacks similar to the ones the dismembered bodies had been found in, according to the police. There were also a laptop and several identity cards belonging to men and women.
One victim has been identified as Roselyn Akoth Ogongo, police said. Her family identified the handbag she was last seen with among items recovered at the suspect’s home. A second victim, officials said, was Imelda Judith Karenya, believed to be the suspect’s first wife. Police said her family identified an ID card found at Khalusha’s home.
It is unclear what the motives of the killings were. The suspect was arrested at a bar in the wee hours on Monday while he was watching the European Football Championship final, officials said.
How are Kenyans reacting?
Kenyans have reacted with outrage since Friday, demanding answers to how the killer could have gone unnoticed by the police for so long, especially as a police station is located close to the dump site where the bodies were found.
The case has brought renewed focus on the killings of women in Kenya.
Femicide is a big concern for rights activists in the country. In January, hundreds of women took to the streets in protest after two women were killed within days of each other.
Instagram influencer Starlet Wahu, 26, was fatally stabbed by a man she checked into a short-let apartment with on January 3. Barely two weeks later, police discovered the remains of Rita Waeni, a 20-year-old student who was killed and dismembered by a man she had also entered a short-let apartment.
Some 500 Kenyan women were murdered between 2017 and January 2024, according to investigative platforms Africa Uncensored and Africa Data Hub.
Is there a police link to the recent murders?
While Khalusha remains in detention, Kenyans have been questioning how the police got to the “serial killer” suspect so fast when some previous cases of murdered women, including that of Waeni, have not been resolved.
The country’s police have long been accused of human rights abuses.
Since the dismembered bodies were found, there has been speculation that they could be the remains of demonstrators protesting against a tax increase, who disappeared in June amid a bloody crackdown by police.
On June 24, police shot at demonstrators angry at a controversial financial bill after they forced their way into Parliament, where lawmakers were deliberating on the legislation. At least 40 people were killed.
Protesters and human rights groups say hundreds of others were arbitrarily arrested and tortured during the protests. Many people are still missing.
One protester, speaking to Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb this week, said he was seized and taken to an unknown location where he was beaten by officials. “When I remember, I get disoriented,” he said, now out of police custody.
Police chief Japhet Koome resigned on Friday under pressure to provide answers about the police’s conduct during the protests.
Meanwhile, the Independent Police Oversight Authority said it was launching an investigation into possible police links to the dismembered bodies amid “widespread allegations of police involvement in unlawful arrests [and] abductions”. The unit said the bodies found last week had “visible signs of mutilation and torture”.
Officials say all police officers stationed at the Kware police station, which is close to the dump site where the bodies were discovered, have now been relocated to allow for “fair and unbiased investigations” into the murders.
Demonstrators, meanwhile, have continued to amass in Nairobi and other cities, this time asking for President Ruto to step down. On Tuesday, police again opened fire. Local journalist Wanjeri Kariuku was wounded in Nakuru city after police fired in the direction of a group of press members.
Who else is a suspect and what’s next?
The court on Tuesday said suspected killer Khalusha will be held for 30 days as investigations into the dismembered bodies continue.
His lawyer, Ndegwa, argued that the initial confession be crossed out by the court, adding that his client had been under duress.
“My client, as he sits there, is in dire need of urgent medical attention,” he told the court. “He was subjected to molestation, torture and the confession that the public is being treated to having murdered 42 persons is laughable.”
Meanwhile, two more suspects have been arrested, officials said, their identities not yet known. The first was arrested on Monday for having a mobile phone belonging to the identified victim, Ogongo, officials said.
The suspect led the police to another man who sold him the phone. Police said they found 154 used phones in the second suspect’s house, and the man admitted to buying the phones from Khalusha. The discoveries were a “breakthrough” in the case, officials said.