A man has appeared in court accused of killing and dismembering ten women and dumping their bodies in a quarry.
A court in Kenya has allowed police to detain a man suspected of the crimes for 30 days as investigations continue.
Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, appeared in Makadara court on Tuesday, accompanied by his lawyer, who had protested an application by the police to detain Khalusha further.
The suspect was arrested at a bar early on Monday morning as he was watching the Euro final.
Since Friday police have been retrieving the dismembered bodies of women from a quarry located near the suspect’s house, where police recovered phones, identity cards and a machete, among other items.
By Tuesday, 10 bodies and various body parts had been removed from the quarry. Two families have positively identified their kin but are awaiting DNA analysis.
Police said the bodies were discovered after relatives of one missing woman claimed to have had a dream in which she directed them to search the quarry. The relatives asked a local diver to help, and he discovered the bodies wrapped in sacks.
The head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, said on Monday that the suspect confessed to killing 42 women, including his wife, since 2022. They gave no evidence to support his claim.
“[He] confessed to have lured, killed and disposed of 42 female bodies at the dumping site, all murdered between 2022 and as recent as Thursday,” he said.
“It is crystallising that we are dealing with a serial killer, a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life, who has no respect and dignity,” Mr Amin added.
Acting police inspector general Douglas Kanja said officers in a nearby police station had been transferred to make way for investigations. Locals had accused police of negligence due to the proximity of the quarry and the unresolved missing persons cases filed there.
A statement signed by human rights groups over the weekend urged Kenya’s security agencies to “to expedite investigations into all reports of enforced disappearances.” There were initial concerns that the bodies could be linked to abductions and arrests of young people during recent anti-government protests.