Suspected serial killer arrested after bodies found in Kenyan quarry

NAIROBI: A suspected serial killer was arrested in Kenya after several bodies were discovered in a Nairobi quarry. Police said on Monday he confessed to killing 42 women, including his own wife.

According to police, Collins Jumaisi, a 33-year-old man who lives near the quarry in the Mukuru district in the south of the capital, was arrested early Monday.

Deputy Police Commissioner Douglas Kanja Kirocho said nine bodies had been recovered from the quarry so far.

“It is becoming clear that we are dealing with a serial killer, a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life,” said Amin Mohamed, the head of the criminal investigation department.

Jumaisi confessed to luring and killing 42 women and dumping their remains in the quarry, Mohamed said.

The killings date back to 2022, starting with Jumaisi’s wife, with the most recent killing occurring on July 11, Mohamed said in the televised statement.

In Jumaisi’s house, police said they found several mobile phones, identity cards, a machete that was believed to have been used to dismember the victims, rubber work gloves, rolls of adhesive tape and a dozen nylon bags similar to those in which the victims were found.

Huge crowds gathered to watch the largely dismembered remains being recovered from the quarry over the weekend, some of them engaging in open confrontations with police.

Many residents are angry about rumors that the bodies are linked to the alleged abduction of young protesters by security forces during recent street demonstrations.

So far, the police have not provided any indication that the remains found have anything to do with the protests.

A government spokesman said in a police statement on X on Friday that authorities were analyzing samples to identify the dead man and that investigations were ongoing.

An activist with the human rights group Mukuru Community Justice Centre said most of the remains were decomposed, suggesting they had been there for some time.

Earlier this month, President William Ruto said reports of kidnappings by state officials were regrettable and that all officials responsible would be brought to justice. Kenya’s police chief Japhet Koome resigned on Friday.