Suspected serial killer arrested in Mombasa

By Maureen Odiwuor

MOMBASA, KENYA: A suspected serial killer believed to have murdered five people in Kisumu County was arrested in Mombasa on Wednesday.

The man, Harrison Okumu, had boarded a Garissa bound bus at a Bus Park in Bondeni area on Wednesday morning when he was arrested by police officers who had been trailing him.

Kisumu DCIO Henry Ndombi said they liaised with officers in Mombasa who traced the suspect and made the arrest before he left for Garissa.

“We have been monitoring the man’s movement for some time. When we realised he was in Mombasa, we alerted our officers who managed to arrest him,” he said.

Ndombi said the suspect will be taken to Kisumu.

The man ran away from his home in Miguye village in Kisumu County when resident’s unearthed human remains buried in a shallow grave next to his house.

Last week, the police retrieved four decomposed bodies from the suspect’s home while another was found in a water pan.

The last body was found in a well close to his home.

Three bodies have not yet been identified since only skeletons remained.

The suspect’s relatives were assisted by the police to leave the village when angry villagers attacked the home and torched houses in the compound.

 “We urge residents of Miguye area and those who might have had an encounter with the suspect to come out as witnesses and assist police in further investigations,” he said.