Is 'vampire' Collins Jumaisi Khalusha the fall guy? Questions over suspected Kware serial killer

The arrest of a man accused of killing and dumping the bodies of at least 42 people at Kware dumpsite in the Mukuru kwa Njenga slums of Nairobi has raised eyebrows over the manner in which the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) carried out the probe.

Kenyans online first raised questions when DCI boss Amin Mohamed on Monday announced that the prime suspect, Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, confessed to killing 42 women between 2022 and July 2024, with his first victim being his wife, Imelda Khalenya.

They questioned how quickly the police wrapped up investigations and arrested the main suspect before the autopsy of the bodies was conducted.

Kenyans also wondered why the DCI conducted the investigations in record time, during a period when rogue police officers who used brute force against protesters during the anti-government demos are still at large.

"It took you people 72 hrs to arrest the alleged serial killer, how long will take you people to arrest killers of Kianjokoma brothers and Rita Waeni? Msituone wajinga nyinyi, mnadeal na learned generation."

"I'm finding it hard to believe this as well. The suspect has sketchy backgrounds conveniently. Whoever did that must be very wealthy and connected."

"The DCI caught the ‘Serial Killer’ dumping bodies at Kware in less than a 6 hours but they don’t know who shot and killed Rex, Kogi, Denzel, Belinda, Eric and the rest of the innocent Kenyans. Watu sio wajinga buana."

Another fact that was not adding up was Khalusha's first victim, his wife, whom he reportedly strangled to death two years ago and dumped at the site. The wife's body is yet to be discovered or positively identified at the City Mortuary.

Questions arose as to whether someone's wife could go missing for two years without the family raising an alarm. Imelda's mother inly presented herself to the DCI to record a statement over her disappearance on Tuesday, a day after the suspect was arrested.

Speaking to the press afterwards, she said she filed a missing person's report in Mukuru kwa Njenga in 2022. She, however, did not produce a formal O/B number to support her claims.

"Kuna wakati mtu alipiga simu akisema ameoa Imelda. Alafu akasema yeye ni pastor na akona yeye. Ule mtu alianza kunigombanisha na nikamwambia kama anaona mtoto ni mzuri akae na yeye," she said.

It is not clear whether Imelda's mother knew that her daughter was not alive until recently, as Kenyans were quick to point out why she had not recorded a statement about her child until the time Khalusha confessed to the killings.

"She's recording a statement two years after the disappearance of her daughter? Does it mean she never reported her missing initially?" 

"If he killed his wife as he claims. Was the matter reported to the police? Was investigation done? What was the report from DCI? Was post-mortem done? Report? What action did the police /DCI take?"

Currently, there is no national database for missing persons in Kenya, but each police station is required to keep a file containing names of those who have been reported missing within their jurisdiction. 

Once a person has gone missing for 24 hours, the family is advised to file a missing person's report at the nearest police station.

Another disparity in the DCI's claims was whether Khalusha's residence was located near the dumpsite. Area locals who spoke to the press claimed that his face was not familiar and that he could not have lived with them over the past two years unnoticed. 

The DCI alleged that Khalusha lived in a single-rented room that is located about 100 metres from the crime scene where the bodies were discovered.

The suspect is also said to have targeted 42 women by inviting them to his house, having sexual relations with them, killing and dumping their bodies at the Kware dumpsite at night. 

Kenyans questioned the DCI's claims and wondered how a suspect could manage to kill 42 women in a span of two years, dismember and dispose their bodies in a densely populated area without anyone noticing him.

"Can the DCI produce missing persons reports that align with the theory of the 42 women allegedly killed since 2022? Considering they have the supposed 'serial killer' who has allegedly confessed, he should clearly know where he picked up these women from," Blogger Cyprian Nyakundi wrote.

"Why didn't they arrest him after he killed his wife back in 2022? How is that even connecting he has been free all through?" Posed another X user.

"DCI boss should just resign. This is shameful. Within 24 hours you've already arrested a suspect with all the evidence before identifying the bodies," read another comment online.

Another key area of concern was the evidence displayed as exhibits. These involved 24 Airtel SIM cards, one laptop, 1 hard drive, 2 flash drives, one machete, 12 nylon sacks, a pair of industrial rubber gloves and eight ID cards. 

Other items discovered also include a pink female handbag, two female panties, one reflector jacket, two title deeds, two notebooks and assorted documents. 

Kenyans pointed out the laptop resembled government laptops that were used during the national census and the Ksh.53 billion digital literacy programme under former President Uhuru Kenyatta where laptops were provided to schools. The tag on the laptop was marked Positivo BGH, which was a brand used under the programme.

"Yaani DCI found women panties and a government laptop used during national population census as evidence for Kware mass grave?"

"Sources intimate that the laptop that was recovered from the alleged Kware serial killer is similar to the computers used for census in Kenya."

Another evidence that was flagged were the two female panties that Kenyans pointed out were too clean to have been previously used by the alleged female victims.

"You can’t kidnap someone. Dismember her, ukate miguu, thighs na panty zake zitokee clean hivi. These panties were just bought yesterday and presented yesterday," one Twitter user wondered.

Kenyans also wondered out how the bodies which were dumped had the same degree of decomposition, roughly two weeks ago; meaning that the crimes could have been committed recently.

A post-mortem examination is yet to be conducted to reveal the cause of death and provide more details to the horrific incidents.

‘Tortured for confession’

After being presented in court on Tuesday, Khalusha, through his lawyer John Maina Ndegwa, claimed that he was tortured by police to confess to the crimes.

“My client, as he sits there, is in dire need of urgent medical attention…for reasons that the period under detention, he was subjected to molestation, torture and the confession that the public is being treated to having murdered 42 persons is laughable,” Ndegwa said. 

The remarks were, however, disputed by the DCI. Principal Magistrate of the Makadara Law Courts Irene Gichobi allowed the police to detain the suspect for 30 days to allow for investigations to be completed.