Mukuru landfill: Kenyan serial killer Jomaisi Khalisia arrested in Nairobi

Kenyan police have arrested a man they describe as a “serial killer” for the gruesome murder of nine women whose mutilated bodies were found in a disused quarry being used as a garbage dump.

According to police, 33-year-old Jomaisi Khalisia has confessed to killing 42 women since 2022, including his own wife.

The suspect was arrested early Monday morning in a bar while watching the European Championship final.

There has been shock and outrage in Kenya since the first dismembered bodies were found in the Mukuru quarry in the capital Nairobi on Friday.

“(He) confessed to luring, killing and dumping 42 female bodies in the landfill. All were murdered between 2022 and Thursday,” said Mohamed Amin, head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI).

He said that after his arrest, the suspect led police officers to his house, which is about 100 meters from the crime scene.

Police showed the media some of the items allegedly seized from the suspect’s home, including ten phones, a laptop, identification cards and personal women’s clothing.

They also found a machete that they believed was used to dismember the victims, as well as nine bags similar to those used to dispose of the bodies.

Since Friday, police have cordoned off a large area of ​​the landfill where the bodies were found in various stages of decomposition.

The victims were between 18 and 30 years old and, according to police, were all killed in the same way.

Police said the suspect was still being questioned to determine the motive for the murders and will be brought to court on Tuesday.

They said his arrest was due to a “forensic analysis” of a mobile phone belonging to one of the victims, Josephine Mulongo Owino, “on which some mobile money transactions were carried out on the day of her disappearance.”

Police said autopsies were currently being performed on the bodies.

They called on families “who believe their loved ones may have fallen victim to these macabre murders” to contact the police.

“It is becoming clear that we are dealing with a serial killer, a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life, who has no respect and no dignity,” Mr Amin said.

A second person who had a phone belonging to one of the victims was also arrested and is being treated as either an accomplice or a suspect, he said.

Kenya’s police oversight agency had previously said it was investigating whether police were involved in the crimes because the dumpsite is located near a police station.

Acting police chief Douglas Kanja had previously stated that officers working there had been transferred to ensure “fair and impartial investigations” into the “heinous” deaths.

The independent police watchdog said “widespread allegations of police involvement in unlawful arrests (and) kidnappings” led it to launch a preliminary investigation to determine whether there was a link to the police.

Human rights groups accuse the police of shooting dozens of people earlier this month who were protesting against planned tax increases, killing some of them.