NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 17- Detectives have arrested another suspect behind a series of killings in the country.
According to detectives, the man has been killing children since December 2019 and June 15, 2021. All his victims were young girls, police said.
“He would brutally kill them after assaulting and defiling them,” Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti told Shahidi News.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the serial killer, identified as Evans Juma Wanjala “would first defile his victims before strangling them to death.”
“The minors all aged between the age of 10 and 15 were lured by the suspect from different locations within Moi’s Bridge in Uasin-Gishu County, before being taken to secluded areas, where he defiled and strangled them.”
The man has confessed to killing five young girls.
His victims have been identified as 13-year-old Linda Cherono, Mary Elusa (14), Grace Njeri (12), Stacy Nabiso (10) and Lucy Wanjiru (15).
“The pedophile led detectives to the scene of every murder that he had committed, where charred remains of the murdered minors had earlier been recovered,” the DCI said.
In one such instance, Cherono’s decomposing body was found on June 15, 2021, near Baharini Dam, days after she went missing.
“Cherono’s decomposing remains were found half dressed in a bush, with signs of strangulation, defilement and physical injuries visible on her body,” detectives said.
Her killing sparked protests in the area, with locals calling for justice.
“The modus operandi of the pedophile was replicated in all the other four murders where the victims were first defiled before being strangled to death and left in the bushes to be devoured by wild beasts,” the DCI said.
“In two instances, the lifeless bodies of the victims were stashed in gunny-bags covered with vegetables and left to rot away in the bushes.”
The DCI said the suspect was forensically linked to all the four killings. Juma, police further said is a habitual offender, with pending warrants of arrest against him.
He is accused of defiling two minors in Kibwezi in 2018. He was however released on bond after he was charged in court.
“After his release, he immediately went into hiding, prompting a warrant of arrest to be issued against him in Makindu Law Courts,” police said.
Two days ago, detectives arrested Masten Milimo Wanjala, 20, the ‘bloodthirsty vampire’, who claimed that he single-handedly massacred his victims.
Sometimes, he said, he would suck blood from their veins before killing them.
In a confession recorded by police, the suspect said he had killed 12 children. The killings occurred in Nairobi, Bungoma and Machakos.
Wanjala was produced in a Makadara court on Thursday and police were given 30 days to hold him while they investigate and recover other bodies. Three bodies have been recovered, two on Tuesday, one on Wednesday.
The serial killer said he documented by date all the child disappearances and executions linked to him, as detailed in a notebook now with police.
He told police after luring his targets to isolated places, he first stupefied them with a chemical before killing them and sucking their blood.
The DCI said, “the bloodthirsty murderer revealed to detectives that he executed the harmless children, Charles Opindo Bala, 13 and Junior Mutuku Musyoki, 12, who disappeared on June 30 and July 7, 2021, respectively.”
Cases of kidnappings have been on the rise according to the National Crime Research Centre (NCRC).
“The rising incidents of the crime of kidnapping in Kenya have raised serious security concerns among citizens in general and security agents in particular. The research found out that the most prevalent types of kidnapping were: kidnapping committed by a stranger; inside kidnapping and kidnapping committed by a family member; kidnapping committed by an acquaintance and kidnapping with an intention to access monies from a victim’s automated teller machine,” NCRC said in a recent report.
Revenge was the major socio-economic motive for kidnapping whilst ransom payment was the major economic motive.
Political rivalry was identified as the key political motive for the kidnapping crime.
The main perpetuators of kidnapping were singled out as Kenyan males of age between 18-35 years and not averagely stable economically; strangers, friends and acquaintances, criminal gangs and militia, romantic partners and family members.
Victims of kidnappings are majorly Kenyan nationals; children and juveniles aged below 18 years, members of wealthy families, business persons, government officers and tourists.
Kidnappings are mainly executed by groups of kidnappers using illegal arms and weapons against victims to a large extent by use of force to get their victims and by enticing and luring victims.
Victims of kidnappings during kidnapping episodes encounter varied negative treatments and conditions such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, being killed, mental/psychological abuse, confinement and isolation, poor feeding and being drugged.
“Effects of the crime of kidnapping include: cause of fear among victims and other community members, disruption of social peace, post-traumatic stress and depression, loss of funds through ransom payment, reduction of economic investment, closure of businesses, reduction of business profits, commission of other crimes, disruption of educational programs and unnecessary increased cost of providing security,” NCRC said in a 2017 report on kidnappings in Kenya.
NCRC has called for strengthening of the Child Protection Unit within the National Police Service to focus on detection and prevention of crime against vulnerable children.
“The Tourist and Diplomatic Police Units should also be adequately facilitated for effective protection of vulnerable tourists and diplomats,” NCRC recommended.
“There is an ardent need to create a database of ex-public and private security officers and to undertake monitoring of their activities by the National Intelligence Service, Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Kenya Private Security Association in case some may be tempted to get into crime after exiting service.”
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