Vusumuzi Dube
A suspect who police said confessed to killing 42 women and was being detained over the discovery of dismembered bodies in Kenya’s capital has escaped from police custody, officials said Tuesday.
Mohamed Amin, the head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, said Collins Jumaisi Khalusha escaped along with 12 other inmates of Eritrean nationality who had been arrested for being in the country illegally.
Acting police inspector general Gilbert Masengeli said disciplinary measures have been taken against eight officers, including the area and station commanders and officers who were on duty.
A police report said the inmates escaped early Tuesday morning after they cut through wire mesh in the cell and scaled the perimeter wall. The escape was discovered as breakfast was being taken into the cell.
Khalusha, 33, was being detained at the police station after a court allowed detectives seven more days to investigate his alleged crimes before charging him.
Police said Khalusha confessed to killing 42 women, including his wife.
“This was a high-value suspect who was to face serious charges. We are investigating the incident and will take action accordingly,” Amin said.
Ndegwa told the AP that he last spoke to Khalusha on Friday when he was presented in court.
“I’m also confounded by the news,” he said.
The police station from which the suspects escaped was cordoned off with crime scene tape and senior police officers visited it on Tuesday afternoon.
Two other suspects who were arrested after being found with cellphones belonging to some of the deceased women are to return to court next Monday.
Police in July said the bodies were discovered after relatives of one missing woman said they had a dream in which she told them to search in a quarry.
The relatives asked a local diver to help and he discovered the bodies wrapped in sacks. Six bodies were identified after DNA tests, but several body parts remain unidentified. -africanews.com
Bongani Ndlovu