RISING FEMICIDE CASES IN KENYA: Man caught carrying wife’s mutilated corpse

International

A 29-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested by police authorities in Kenya after mangled body parts were found stuffed in the backpack he was carrying.

Police patrolling at dawn in Huruma, east of Nairobi suspected John Kiama Wambua of carrying something illegal, prompting them to approach him and search his bag only to discover the mutilated corpse of a person.

The untroubled Wambua reportedly said during the interrogation that the body parts belonged to his 19-year-old wife, identified as Joy Fridah Munani.

He led authorities to their home where more body parts were found beneath the bed including a knife and clothes soaked with blood.

Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in a statement said Wambua seemed to be "unperturbed" after the officers discovered the body parts of his wife inside his bag, describing the crime as a “heinous” act.

Wambua will be facing murder charges before Kenya’s court, adding to several murder cases of women in the said country.

According to a BBC report, Kenya is among the countries in Africa with the highest number of femicide, or murdering women, often because of their gender.

The country recorded several murder cases of women in the past years, with at least 97 executions that took place between August and October 2024, according to Kenya's National Police Service.

One of the popular killings was the murder of Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei who was murdered by her former partner in September 2024.

Another murder happened in July last year wherein the bodies of nine women were discovered in a disused quarry. Authorities arrested Collins Jumaisi Khalush whom they describe as a “serial killer”, who’s responsible for the killing.

The rising cases of femicide in Kenya have been among the top concerns of women’s groups and other organizations in Kenya who even conducted a protest calling to end violence against women.(LAO)