By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Five Kenyan policemen alleged to have assisted a suspected serial killer along with 12 others escape from a police station in the capital Nairobi have been arraigned.
Prosecutors had during the arraignment of the suspects on Wednesday urged the court to remand them in custody for two weeks pending the conclusion of investigation.
The police last month said Collins Jumaisi Khalusha had confessed to the murders of 42 women, including his wife, since 2022.
According to prosecutors, more time is required to collect statements, CCTV footage and examine the telephone conversations of the police officers to ascertain the roles they played.
The arrest of Khalusha is in connection with women whose bodies were discovered wrapped in plastic bags in an old quarry, which is now used as a rubbish dump.
Police say Khalusha admitted to killing 42 women including his wife, but his lawyer told a court he was tortured into making a confession.
Prosecutors however deny obtaining confessional statement by torture.
Preliminary investigations showed that insiders aided the escape, police said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that they had launched a man-hunt to re-arrest all escapees.
A police report indicate that Khalusha and 12 Eritrean nationals were discovered missing from their cell on Tuesday, and were suspected to have escaped by cutting through a wire mesh over the window in their cell.
