Police in Kenya have arrested a man who was carrying a mutilated body in a backpack that he allegedly said belonged to his 19-year-old wife.
Officers encountered 29-year-old John Kiama Wambua while patrolling Huruma, a district east of Nairobi, shortly before dawn.
Suspecting that Wambua was carrying something illegal, they searched his backpack and “to their shock” found body parts, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said in a statement.
This is far from an isolated case – Kenya has one of the highest rates of femicide, or gender-motivated murder, in Africa.
After the police officers questioned Mr. Wambua, he told them the body parts belonged to his wife, Joy Fridah Munani, the DCI said in a statement.
He appeared to be “unfazed” by the officers’ discovery, it said.
After questioning Mr. Wambua led the officers to his house, where they found a knife, blood-soaked clothes and other body parts under the bed.
The DCI described the act as “heinous”, adding that the suspect will be formally charged with the murder during an upcoming court hearing.
At least 97 women were killed between August and October last year, the Kenyan National Police Service announced.
In December, hundreds of women took to the streets of the capital Nairobi to protest the recent spate of femicides. Allegedly, the police met them by firing tear gas.
Kenya has seen several high-profile killings of women. In September 2024. Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei killed by her ex-partner.
The 33-year-old died days after she was doused with gasoline and set on fire in her home in western Kenya.
In July, police arrested Collins Jumaisi Khalush, described as a “serial killer”, after the mutilated bodies of nine women were found in an abandoned quarry.
Mr. Khalusha escaped from custody a month later and appears to be still on the run.
Earlier that year, in a case that caused widespread outrage, a young woman named Rita Waeni was brutally murdered in an apartment for short-term rent. Police said she was dismembered and stuffed into a plastic bag.
