On June 28, 2024, 24-year-old Roseline Akoth went missing in the Kware area of Pipeline, where she lived with her sister-in-law, Judith Akoth. It was her third month in Nairobi, where she had come to find a job to support herself and her three children, who were staying with her mother in their rural home in Luo Nyanza.
Her disappearance caused panic in the family, with several unsuccessful attempts to contact her. In the early days of her disappearance, her phone was answered, but no one spoke on the other end. A few days later, the phone went off permanently.
Weeks later, the discovery of dead bodies at an abandoned quarry in the Kware area, Mukuru Slums in Nairobi, prompted the family to investigate if she was among the deceased. Her mother, Benta Awuor Ogongo, left the village on Sunday for the city to aid in the identification process.
On Monday, their worst fears were confirmed. Roseline, who had been missing for days, was among the brutally murdered victims, with their bodies dismembered. However, the family only identified the upper part of her body, as her whole body had not been recovered.
The discovery of her body at the City Mortuary required the family to record statements at the DCI headquarters. Upon arrival, they found a handbag belonging to Roseline among the exhibits in DCI’s possession. The handbag contained a sock that Roseline’s sister-in-law identified as hers.
Judith Akoth stated, “There was a pink handbag which Rose left the house with that morning that we found at the DCI.” Additionally, another sock, matching the one found in the DCI exhibit, was discovered at the house of the prime suspect, Collins Jumaisi Khalusha.
DCI revisited the suspect’s house, which is still an active crime scene, on Wednesday during which they recovered items believed to be key in the ongoing probe.
The officers also recovered a sisal and manila ropes and a notebook with hospital receipts bearing the name of a woman.
The team also recovered 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 sack.
Keran Khavere, mother to Alaine Akhaleye who got lost in May 2023, is also among those looking for their kin.
Keran and Alaine lived together at Sinai slum in Embakasi. Alaine worked with a company that exports vegetables at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
“I have looked at the bodies but I haven’t seen any resembling her,” she told the media outside City Mortuary.
She said she had given out her DNA and she will await results to see if her daughter is among the recovered body parts.
As of Monday, a total of 10 bodies had been recovered from the dumpsite awaiting postmortem at the Nairobi Funeral Home, formerly City Mortuary.
Families whose loved ones were missing have arrived at the premises to identify their kin from the retrieved bodies.
Police say the suspect targeted women to avenge what they suspect to be a bad ending with his late wife.
“He seems to have acted out of rage and this is linked to the way he killed his wife first,” said Amin.
