Questions of Accountability as DCI Places Bounty on Fugitive Linked to Nairobi Women Murders

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has offered a Sh1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, a fugitive accused of murdering several women in Nairobi. 

But the announcement has revived uncomfortable questions about how such a high-profile suspect managed to slip away from police custody in the first place.

Khalusha, who is believed to be behind the killings of women whose bodies were found at the Kware dumpsite in Embakasi, escaped in August 2024 while awaiting arraignment. 

More than a year later, authorities have yet to explain the circumstances of his disappearance or identify who might have facilitated it.

The silence has drawn criticism from legal and human rights voices, among them lawyer Willis Otieno, who argues that the government is responding with public relations instead of accountability. 

“A murder suspect escaped custody not from a Hollywood prison break, but directly from police hands. Rather than explain how this happened, they are issuing posters and cash rewards,” he wrote on X.

Otieno’s remarks highlight a growing frustration among Kenyans who say institutions tasked with security and justice often react only after public pressure. 

Families of the victims, who have waited for over a year without closure, now watch the renewed search unfold with cautious hope.

The killings, which shocked the country last year, ignited a national debate on women’s safety and the competence of law enforcement.