NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 – Masten Wanjala, a 20-year-old man, who captured the attention of the nation after confessing to a series of child disappearances culminating in the murder of at least ten children, is dead.
Wanjala is reported to have been murdered by an irate mob in Bungoma days after he escaped from police custody in Nairobi ahead of his arraignment in court.
Aiuthorities said Wanjala was lynched by an irate mob after travelling to his home in Mukhweya village, Bungoma on Friday morning.
He was due in court this week over the murder of at least 6 children whom he confessed to have killed and even led police to where he dumped their bodies. He had promised to show them four more sites.
“Special Service agents had been on his trail in Western Kenya, but unfortunately, he was spotted by villagers in Bungoma, and beaten to death before our agents re-arrested him,” said the DCI, “The Directorate of Criminal Investigations was determined to ensure that the suspect faces justice in a court of law for each crime that he committed. However, the law of the jungle Has applied by irate villagers.”
Police said he was spotted by school children who raised an alarm on Friday morning before he was pursuedd and hid in a neighbour’s house .
“He comes from this area and so the children saw him and knew it was him and that is when information spread around and locals started pursuing him,” local chief Bonface Ndiema said, “in the end he ran into a neighbour’s house but he was flushed out and lynched.”
Bruno Shiosho, the National Police Spokesman, said detectives have launched an investigation, including forensic investigation to confirm his identity.
“The locals have said it is him but we have launched an investigation. For now we can confirm that a man locals say is Masten Wanjala who was on the run and has been lynched in Bungoma,” Bruno said.
According to the local chief, the man arrived in the village on Friday morning.
Three police officers on duty during the time of his escape were arraigned in court on Thursday but they did not take a plea after investigators asked for more time to interrogate them.
Police described Wanjala as a “bloodthirsty vampire,” saying he killed his victims, “in the most callous manner, sometimes through sucking blood from their veins before executing them.”
The murders, targeting 12- and 13-year-olds, stretch back five years and the bodies of several children feared to have died in his hands have yet to be found.
Police had launched a manhunt for Wanjala who was considered to be a threat to the public, especially children, who was arrested sin July but had been in custody since after investigators, on at least two occasions, asked for his plea taking to be deferred to allow them time to conclude investigations.
Soon after his arrest, he took police to at least six murder scenes in Nairobi’s Shauri Moyo and in Western Kenya where he had dumped the bodies and was taken to court days later.
In Shauri Moyo, Nairobi, police said he led detectives to scenes where he confessed to killing and dumping two minors. Another body was recovered in Westlands.
Wanjala also led the detectives to Kabete during the search where they recovered two more victims’ bodies from a river believed have been killed by the suspect.
The suspect was said to have committed other murders in Machakos, Bungoma.
“At the last court appearance, the ODPP made an application for Wanjala to undergo a mental assessment at Mathari Hospital for purposes of presenting him to the High Court to face murder charges,” the public prosecutor said.
Police were initially allowed at least 30 days to detain him so as to complete investigations but kept asking for extensions as the suspect claimed he was yet to take detectives to more murder scenes.
He was detained at the Jogoo Road Police Station and was due in court on October 13, but officers said they discovered him missing while verifying names of listed suspects who were also due in court for various crimes.
Three police officers on duty during the time of his escape were arraigned in court on Thursday but they did not take a plea after investigators asked for more time to interrogate them. Police were later allowed 7 days to finalise their investigation with the suspects set free on a Sh100,000 cash bail.
Police described Wanjala as a “bloodthirsty vampire,” saying he killed his victims, “in the most callous manner, sometimes through sucking blood from their veins before executing them.”
The murders, targeting 12- and 13-year-olds, stretch back five years and the bodies of several children feared to have died in his hands have yet to be found.
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