On Wednesday, five Kenyan police officers appeared in court, facing suspicions of aiding the escape of a man accused of murdering and dismembering numerous women from a Nairobi police cell.
The manhunt began on Tuesday after Collins Jumaisi, an alleged serial killer, and 12 Eritrean detainees broke out of a police station in a wealthy district of the Kenyan capital.
Jumaisi, 33, described by police as a “vampire and psychopath,” was arrested last month following the grim discovery of several mutilated bodies in a rubbish dump in a slum area of Nairobi.
The escapees reportedly managed to flee by cutting through a wire mesh roof at the station.
“Our preliminary investigations indicate that the escape was aided by insiders,” acting national police chief Gilbert Masengeli said Tuesday.
Five out of the eight officers taken into custody for the jailbreak were in a Nairobi court on Wednesday. Law enforcement officials requested permission to continue detaining them for another 14 days to finalise their inquiries.
Authorities revealed that they learned about the escape during a routine morning check on Tuesday at 5:00 am when officers went to the cells to serve breakfast to the prisoners.
“On opening the cell door, they discovered that 13 prisoners had escaped by cutting the wire mesh in the basking bay,” police said in a statement, referring to a covered courtyard area in the station where detainees could get access to fresh air.
Authorities say 12 Eritreans were detained for being in Kenya illegally, and four others who did not escape are assisting the police in the ongoing investigation.
After being captured on July 15, Jumaisi confessed to murdering 42 women over two years, starting in 2022, with his wife being his first victim.
This is the second time in less than six months that a suspect involved in a high-profile case has escaped from custody.