Autopsies underway to unravel mystery behind Mukuru killings after arrest of prime suspect

As Kenyans dissect the news of the arrest of an alleged prime suspect in the macabre killings of persons whose bodies were dumped at Nairobi's Kware area, autopsies on nine recovered bodies have begun at the City Mortuary.

The findings will help answer questions as to how the suspect single-handedly or assisted by other suspects, killed over 40 individuals in what the police say are "revenge" killings that only targeted "beautiful" women.

Police records show they have recovered nine bodies so far, as the search for more continues in the tension-filled neighbourhood of Mukuru.

This is as the Mukuru Social Justice Centre claimed to have recovered another body on Monday.

Since the mysterious bodies were discovered last Friday, many Kenyans on social media linked them to the June 25 after-protests' shootings in Githurai claiming that the victims are likely to have been dumped there following conflicting information on the fateful night's data of victims.

This question can only be answered by the findings of the autopsies that are being carried out in the presence of multiple human rights representatives to ensure transparency.

"If the flesh bodies are found to contain bullet wounds, then, that will forge a new line of probe but if they remain as described by the prime suspect, then the case shall focus on that," an official told The Eastleigh Voice on Monday.

While revealing the identity of the prime suspect, Director of Criminal Investigations Amin Mohamed explained that the suspect was arrested at a club in Soweto while watching Sunday's Euro Championship finals.

DCI Director Mohamed Amin addresses the press at Jogoo House, Nairobi on July 14, 2024. (Photo: Justine Ondieki/EV

Items recovered

A search at his single-room house led to the recovery of 24 SIM cards, eight smartphones, a laptop, a machete, green sacks and rubber gloves.

Also recovered were six male ID cards, two female ID cards, one handbag, five rolls of bhang, a reflector jacket, two title deeds and some money.

Noting that the suspect allegedly lived only 200 metres from the dumping site, the police now have to demonstrate how and why a man described as a "psychopathic serial killer" would freely intermingle with the masses despite the news of his actions having spread within his community and the country at large.

A suspect of his calibre would be expected to run and hide as the probe nets down his trails but instead, he was found "chilling" at the club watching football.

"From the look of things it is crystalising that we are dealing with a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life," Amin noted.

Another emerging question is whether the victims' families reported their kin as missing, whether the reports filed led to any probe and what the leads in each probe were arriving at.

Also, of interest in this case are the suspect's family and immediate neighbours.

Their confessions as to whether they noticed unusual behaviour in the suspect will be key in unravelling how and when he committed the heinous acts.

At the same time, detectives will be needed to establish the identity and last moments of the suspect's victims if they are to charge him for the deaths.

This will require the use of forensic experts to dig out traces of DNA from the already active but interfered with crime scene.

The answers will help persons with missing kin from the anti-government protests find closure and calm the growing tensions over protest-related deaths.