“Psychopathic vampire” serial killer escapes from Kenyan prison – police launch manhunt

Jumaisi appeared in court in the Kenyan capital on Friday (file)

Nairobi, Kenya:

Kenyan police launched a manhunt on Tuesday after a man believed to have confessed to the murder and dismemberment of 42 women escaped from a police cell in Nairobi along with a dozen other inmates.

Collins Jumaisi, 33, described by police as a “vampire, psychopath”, was arrested last month following the gruesome discovery of mutilated bodies in a garbage dump in a slum in the Kenyan capital.

“Investigations have been launched and a major security operation is underway to apprehend the 13 suspects,” Kenyan police spokeswoman Resila Onyango told AFP.

In a separate statement, police said they discovered the outbreak when officers routinely visited police station cells around 5 a.m. to serve breakfast to prisoners.

“When they opened the cell door, they found that 13 prisoners had escaped by cutting through the wire mesh in the sunbathing area,” the statement said, referring to an area of ​​the station where prisoners had access to fresh air.

The escapees are Jumaisi and twelve other people who, according to the police, were of Eritrean origin and were in custody because they were “illegal immigrants”.

The police station is located in the upscale Nairobi district of Gigiri, which is home to the regional headquarters of the United Nations and numerous embassies.

This is the second time in just under six months that a suspect has escaped from custody in a high-profile case.

Kenyan Kevin Kangethe, accused of murdering his girlfriend in the United States last year and leaving her body in an airport parking lot, fled a police station in February before being caught about a week later.

Police in focus

Jumaisi appeared in court in the Kenyan capital on Friday, where the judge ordered his detention for a further 30 days to give police time to complete their investigation.

Ten dismembered bodies of women tied in plastic bags were found in a garbage dump in an abandoned quarry in Nairobi's Mukuru slum, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KNCHR) said last month.

The gruesome discovery shocked Kenyans, who were already suffering from the aftermath of the so-called Shakahola forest massacre, in which more than 400 bodies were discovered in mass graves near the Indian Ocean coast.

A Kenyan cult leader is accused of inciting his followers to starve themselves in preparation for the end of the world and “meet Jesus.” He and dozens of co-defendants face numerous charges, including terrorism, murder and child abuse.

Jumaisi was arrested in the early hours of July 15 near a bar in Nairobi where he had watched the final of the 2024 European Football Championship.

Criminal Investigation Directorate-General Mohamed Amin said after his arrest that Jumaisi confessed to murdering 42 women over a two-year period starting in 2022, and that his wife was his first victim.

“We are dealing with a vampire, a psychopath,” Amin said at the time.

The bodies shed new light on the Kenyan police as they were found just 100 metres from a police station.

The state-funded KNCHR said in July that it was conducting its own investigation into the Mukuru case because “any possibility of extrajudicial executions must be ruled out.”

Kenya's police oversight body, the Independent Police Oversight Authority, also said it was investigating whether the police were involved in the killings or whether there were “no measures to prevent” the killings.

Human rights groups often accuse Kenyan police of carrying out unlawful killings or directing hit squads, but few have been brought to justice.

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