Kanja says hunt for Kware murder suspect Collins Jumaisi still on, appeals to public for help

Inspector General Douglas Kanja says police are still pursuing Kware murder suspect Collins Jumaisi, affirming that officers linked to his escape have already been disciplined and urging the public to help trace the fugitive, who has now been on the run for more than a year.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with NTV, Kanja expressed confidence that the suspect will eventually be rearrested, insisting that “he must pay for his crimes.”

"We know what transpired in our station, and appropriate action has been taken against those who were deemed to have allowed Jumaisi to leave our lawful custody. We have advised our people to assist us wherever possible, and I know that at the end of the day, we are going to lay our hands on Jumaisi. He must pay for his crimes," Kanja said.

Jumaisi is the prime suspect in one of Kenya’s most disturbing murder investigations in recent years. His arrest in July 2024 followed the discovery of mutilated bodies and body parts of women dumped at the Kware quarry-turned-dumpsite in Nairobi’s Mukuru kwa Njenga area.

According to police, Jumaisi allegedly confessed to killing 42 women, with the murders said to have taken place between 2022 and July 11, 2024. He later recanted the confession through his lawyer, claiming he had been tortured into admitting to crimes he did not commit and urgently needed medical attention while in custody.

“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,” his lawyer, John Ndegwa, previously told the court.

“My client has been subjected to horrendous inhuman mistreatment so that he can confess to issues which are alien to him. I pray that the court directs for urgent medical attention even as they do their investigations."

Before he could be charged, Jumaisi escaped from Gigiri Police Station on the morning of August 20, 2024. He fled together with 12 Eritrean nationals after cutting through a wire mesh in the station’s basking bay.

The escape was later described as an inside job, leading to the interdiction of eight police officers, including the Gigiri Sub-County Commander, the Officer Commanding Station and several report officers who were on duty at the time.

Following his disappearance, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations declared him a wanted man and appealed for public assistance. The National Police Service has since offered a Sh1 million reward for credible information leading to his arrest.

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