- Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, accused of murdering 42 women, has escaped from police custody in Kenya
- The escape has sparked a manhunt
- The killings have led to an investigation into allegations of police involvement
A suspected serial killer in Kenya has managed to escape police custody, sparking an intense manhunt, according to police reports.
Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, who was arrested in July, had allegedly confessed to the murders of 42 women, including his wife, since 2022. However, Khalusha’s lawyer claims that these confessions were coerced through torture.
Khalusha, who had been held at a local police station since his arrest, broke free on Tuesday along with 12 other detainees. They escaped by cutting through a wire mesh roof and climbing over a perimeter wall. The escape was discovered by police at 05:00 local time (03:00 GMT) during breakfast rounds.
The other escapees were Eritrean nationals who had been detained for illegal entry into Kenya. Khalusha, 33, was initially apprehended after nine mutilated bodies were found in a deserted quarry near Nairobi. The victims, aged between 18 and 30, were all killed in a similar manner, causing widespread shock and outrage.
The case has raised serious questions about how such a series of murders went unnoticed and how bodies were left near a police station without detection. Kenya’s police watchdog has launched an investigation into potential police involvement in unlawful arrests and abductions, though results have yet to be released.
The Kenyan police force, which has faced numerous allegations of human rights abuses in the past, is also under scrutiny for deaths and abductions related to recent anti-government protests.
At the time of Khalusha’s arrest, Directorate of Criminal Investigations chief Mohamed Amin described him as a “psychopathic serial killer” devoid of respect for human life. Khalusha’s lawyer, John Maina Ndegwa, has asserted that his client was subjected to torture to extract a confession.
The suspect had appeared in Nairobi court on Friday, where a magistrate extended his detention for 30 days to allow for the completion of the investigation.
This escape comes amidst national trauma from the Shakahola forest massacre, where over 400 bodies were discovered in mass graves. Cult leader Paul Mackenzie, accused of encouraging followers to starve themselves to meet Jesus, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.
