A manhunt is under way in Kenya after Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, a 33 years old man, who confessed murdering 42 women, escaped from a Nairobi police cell.
Khalusha, who the police described as a “vampire, and psychopath” was alleged to have broke out along with 12 undocumented Eritrean migrants from the cell.
Their escape was discovered on Tuesday, when officers made a routine visit to the police station cells at about 5am (02:00 GMT) to serve the detainees breakfast,
Kenya police spokeswoman, Resila Onyango, confirmed the development to newsmen after the law enforcement agency discovered they have escaped.
“On opening the cell door, they found that 13 prisoners had escaped by cutting the wire mesh in the basking bay,” it said, referring to an area in the station where detainees could get access to fresh air.
Khalusha was arrested on July 15 after dismembered bodies were found in a quarry in the Nairobi slum of Mukuru. Mohamed Amin, the head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, said Khalusha had confessed to the murders, which took place over two years from 2022.
Khalusha appeared in court on Friday, where the magistrate ordered him to be held for 30 more days to enable police to complete their investigations. However, his lawyer, John Maina Ndegwa claimed that Khalusha was “tortured” into making the confession, which prosecutors denied.
The discovery of the bodies in the quarry had raised concerns about police involvement or failure to act as the location is just 100 meters from a police station.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights is conducting its own investigation, citing the need to rule out extrajudicial killings, also the Independent Police Oversight Authority is investigating possible police involvement.
The police station where Khalusha escaped is located in the upmarket Nairobi district of Gigiri, near the regional headquarters of the United Nations and numerous embassies.
Gilbert Masengeli, the acting police inspector general said Khalusha’s escape has led to disciplinary measures against eight officers who were on duty, with preliminary investigations suggesting that the escape was aided by insiders.
