A “vampire serial killer” who police say has confessed to murdering 42 women has escaped captivity in Kenya after a mass breakout.
Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, was arrested in July after 10 bodies and several body parts, wrapped in plastic bags, were found at a garbage dump in a Nairobi slum.
Jumaisi was being held at a police station in the capital when he escaped, along with 12 other detainees, all of whom were Eritrean nationals, officials said.
The prisoners managed to escape by breaking through the wire roof and climbing over the wall. According to national police chief Gilbert Masengeli, this escape was “aided by insiders”.
He told reporters that eight officers who were on duty at the time have been suspended and “taken into custody,” adding that the matter is being investigated by the Internal Affairs Department.
Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, is brought to Kiambu Magistrates Court in Kiambu, Kenya, on July 16
Ten bodies are recovered from a garbage dump in a Nairobi slum on July 13
Detectives work on the scene at Gigiri police station after the escape
Police said they discovered the breakout when officers made a routine visit to the cells at around 5 a.m. to give inmates breakfast.
“When they opened the cell door, they saw that 13 prisoners had escaped by cutting the wire mesh in the cell,” police said, referring to a covered courtyard in the station where prisoners could get fresh air.
Police said the 12 Eritreans were arrested for being in Kenya illegally. Four others who had not escaped were assisting with the investigation.
The police station is located in Nairobi’s upmarket Gigiri district, which is home to the United Nations regional headquarters and several embassies.
It is the second time in just six months that a suspect in a high-profile case in Kenya has escaped.
Kenyan Kevin Kangethe, who is accused of killing his girlfriend in the United States last year and leaving her body in an airport parking lot, fled a police station in February but was caught about a week later.
Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, was arrested in July after ten bodies and several body parts, wrapped in plastic bags, were found at a garbage dump in a Nairobi slum
Officials remove bodies found in plastic bags from the landfill on July 13
Gilbert Masengeli briefs the media at Gigiri police station after the escape
Crowds gather after gruesome discovery in Nairobi’s Mukuru slum
A police officer enters the Gigiri police station after the main suspect in the Kware murder case, Collins Jumaisi, escaped from custody
Jumaisi appeared in court in Nairobi on Friday, where the magistrate ordered him to be remanded in custody for a further 30 days so police could complete their investigation.
Criminal Investigation Department head Mohamed Amin said after his arrest on July 15 that Jumaisi had confessed to killing 42 women over a two-year period from 2022, with his wife being his first victim.
“We are dealing with a vampire here, a psychopath,” Amin said at the time.
Jumaisi said he had been abused and tortured, his lawyer told AFP last month.
A spokesperson for the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) said in a statement when the bodies were found: “We would like to assure the public that our investigation will be thorough and cover a wide range of issues, including (but not limited to) the possible activities of cult members and serial killings.
Bystanders gather at the dumpsite where bodies were found at the landfill in Mukuru slum, Nairobi, in July
Tensions rose at the Mukuru site, with local media reporting that police fired into the air to disperse an angry crowd.
Locals expressed concern after more and more bodies were found in the waste
Some people on social media have described them as victims of femicide
Officials inspect the bodies as they are watched by a crowd of local residents
“We appeal to the public to remain calm and allow our investigators the opportunity to bring justice to the victims of this horrific scene.”
The identities of the dead and how long the bodies had been in the quarry are not yet known.
The gruesome discovery shocked Kenyans, who were already reeling from the massacre in the Shakahola Forest, where more than 400 bodies were found in mass graves on the Indian Ocean coast.
A Kenyan cult leader has been accused of starving his followers in preparation for the end of the world and an encounter with Jesus.
He and dozens of co-defendants are charged with numerous charges, including terrorism, murder and child abuse.