Kenyan police announced on Monday the arrest of a “psychopathic serial killer” who confessed to killing 42 women after nine mutilated bodies were found in a dumpster in the capital Nairobi.
Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, who was arrested in Nairobi this morning, “confessed to luring, killing and disposing of the bodies of 42 women in a dumpster,” Criminal Investigation Department chief Amin Mohammed told a news conference.
According to Amin Mohamed, the alleged killer was arrested outside a business “where he went to watch the European Football Championship final” between Spain and England on Sunday evening.
“We are dealing with a serial killer, a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life,” the head of the criminal investigation department added.
During a search of the suspect’s home, a machete was found that authorities suspect was “used to dismember the victims,” continued Jumaisi Khalusha, who describes Collins as a “vampire.”
“Unfortunately and very sadly, the suspect stated that his first victim was his wife (…), whom he strangled before dismembering her body and throwing it” in a trash bin, Amin Mohamed said.
According to initial interrogations, all the victims were killed “in the same way,” he added.
Police said the murders occurred between 2022 and July 11, 2024.
In addition, “a second suspect (…) was arrested with a mobile phone belonging to one of the victims,” Amin Mohamed said, without giving details.
Nine bodies, including at least eight women, were found in the dumpster between the start of the search on Friday and Sunday, authorities said. The victims of the first eight bodies found were between 18 and 30 years old.
Police have come under fire after the first bodies were found at a dump less than 100 metres from a police station.
Interim national police chief Douglas Kanja promised on Sunday a “transparent, thorough and speedy investigation”, saying officers had been redeployed from a police station less than 100 metres from the dump.
On Friday, the Independent Policing Authority (IPOA) announced it was investigating possible police involvement in the killings.
The incident comes at a time when Kenyan security forces are under pressure after dozens of people were killed in recent demonstrations against government tax hike plans in June.
In Kenya, the police are feared and regularly accused of murder and extrajudicial killings, especially in poor neighbourhoods, but they are rarely convicted.