Eight police officers have been suspended on suspicion of facilitating the escape of Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, a suspected serial killer, from custody. Khalusha, who reportedly confessed to the murders of 42 women, had been held since July following the discovery of nine mutilated bodies in an abandoned quarry in Nairobi.
The escape occurred early Tuesday morning when officers at the police station discovered that Khalusha, along with 12 Eritrean nationals held for illegal entry, had vanished. According to an incident report, the detainees managed to flee by cutting through a wire mesh roof and scaling a perimeter wall. The escape was allegedly aided by insiders, prompting the suspension of the officers on duty.
The police force, already under scrutiny for numerous human rights abuses, faces intensified investigation. Kenya’s Independent Police Oversight Authority has launched a probe to determine if any officers were involved in the murders or if they facilitated Khalusha’s escape. A spokesperson for the authority remarked, “We are examining all possible connections, including whether the police themselves were implicated in the killings.”
Khalusha’s lawyer, John Maina Ndegwa, has consistently denied his client’s involvement in the murders, claiming that Khalusha was coerced into confessing under duress. “He was visibly distressed and terrified when he made his confession,” Ndegwa told reporters in July.
The case has sparked public outrage, with many questioning how such a large-scale murder investigation could go unnoticed by law enforcement and how the suspect could escape so effortlessly. The incident has drawn comparisons to the recent Shakahola forest massacre, where cult leader Paul Mackenzie allegedly encouraged his followers to starve themselves to death, resulting in over 400 fatalities.
As the investigation unfolds, the suspended officers remain under scrutiny, and the public awaits further answers concerning both the escape and the broader allegations of police involvement in the murders.
