Family of Kware Murder Suspect: "Our Son Could Disappear from Home for Years"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 17 –

The family of Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, the suspect behind the murdered women whose bodies were dumped in an abandoned quarry in Mukuru kwa Njenga slums, has said he often disappeared from home.

Image: Kware killings suspect Collins Jumaisi at Makadara Law Courts, July 16, 2024. Photo by @KNUdigital

Margaret Rose Jumaisi, the mother of the suspect, claims to have been shocked when it was revealed that her son is the key suspect in the heinous crimes. "The revelation that my son is a key suspect in these heinous crimes shocked the entire family," she said.

Rose narrated how her last-born son dropped out of school in Form 3 and disappeared from home for some years, only to reappear. In 2016, he bought a plot and put up a house; he then left it in her care.

In an interview with Citizen TV from their rural home, Collins' sister explained that he stayed with her in Busia after joining Standard 7 and later went to Uganda for further studies following his KCPE. "He was called to a school, but I did not have the money to take him there, so I took him to Uganda where he studied for three years. I came back to Busia, and on returning to Uganda, I did not find him," she said. She added that Collins ran to Nairobi with a friend after changing his name in his childhood.

Collins was arrested at a Soweto club early Monday. According to detectives, he confessed to killing 42 women between 2022 and July 11 this year. On the contrary, in court, Collins said that he had been tortured into confessing to the murders against his will.

On Wednesday, detectives revisited the house Collins stayed in and recovered several items, including a blood-stained hammer, a dressing mirror with fingerprints, a mattress, a blood-stained pillow, a red T-shirt, a pair of pliers, two kitchen knives, four pairs of women's shoes, and a gunny bag.

The police added that the suspect boasted of having had unprotected sex with all the victims and having killed over 20 women in 2023 alone, with a further 10 in 2024. He is reported to have bragged that the first lady was his wife, to which his family responded that he had never returned home with any lady as his wife.

The suspect is also reported to have told the police that he takes victims' belongings and gives them to his friends or sells them, including phones, clothes, cash, bags, and other valuables.

On Tuesday, it emerged that detectives were holding two other suspects who are persons of interest in the murder case. One was found with the handset of the latest victim, while the other is said to have sold the phone.