By Omar Bah
A man has appeared in court accused of killing and dismembering ten women and dumping their bodies in a quarry.
A court in Kenya has permitted the police to detain a man suspected of committing crimes for 30 days to allow for ongoing investigations. 33-year-old Collins Jumaisi Khalusha appeared in Makadara court on Tuesday, accompanied by his lawyer, who had opposed the police’s request for Khalusha’s extended detention. The suspect was taken into custody at a bar early Monday morning while he was watching the Euro final.
Since Friday, police have been retrieving the dismembered bodies of women from a quarry located near the suspect’s house, where police recovered phones, identity cards, and a machete, among other items. By Tuesday, ten bodies and various body parts had been removed from the quarry. Two families have positively identified their kin but are awaiting DNA analysis.
Police said the bodies were discovered after relatives of one missing woman claimed to have had a dream in which she directed them to search the quarry. The relatives asked a local diver to help, and he discovered the bodies wrapped in sacks. The head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, said on Monday that the suspect confessed to killing 42 women, including his wife, since 2022. They gave no evidence to support his claim. [He] admitted to having lured, killed, and disposed of 42 female bodies at the dumping site, all murdered between 2022 and as recently as Thursday. “It is crystallizing that we are dealing with a serial killer, a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life, who has no respect and dignity,” Amin added.
Acting Police Inspector General Douglas Kanja stated that officers at a nearby police station had been relocated to facilitate ongoing investigations. Residents had accused the police of negligence, citing the quarry’s proximity and the unresolved cases of missing persons reported in the area. A statement issued by human rights groups over the weekend called on Kenya’s security agencies to promptly conduct thorough investigations into all reports of enforced disappearances. Initial concerns were raised regarding the possible connection of the discovered bodies to the abductions and arrests of young individuals during recent anti-government protests.
