Detectives have reportedly arrested a woman for questioning, in connection with the escape of a serial murder suspect and 12 others from the Gigiri police station, Nairobi.
The woman is believed to have played a role in the escape of Collins Jumaisi and 12 Eritreans from the police cells.
Officials said the woman was picked up from the Ruaka area, Kiambu for questioning.
It is believed that after they escaped from the cells, they jumped through a fence behind the police station towards Limuru Road and headed to Ruaka.
Police reportedly found footsteps at the fence indicating the place was the exit route.
A source said the woman has been linked to human smuggling claims in the past.
“We hope to get more as the probe goes on,” said one officer who was aware of the probe.
The probe is being handled by multi-agency teams, which are rushing against time in efforts to rearrest the escapees.
Among others, detectives are analysing her movements and transactions as part of the probe.
The CCTV camera behind the police station was not working at the time of the incident, police have established.
Police investigators have so far concluded the escape was an inside job.
This rubbished claims by police officers who were on duty the escapees used a small hole in a wire mesh forming part of the cells at the station.
The police argued the suspects cut the hole and enhanced the escape.
Following the incident, eight police officers were interdicted, police authorities said.
The officers were briefly detained for grilling.
Acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli said among those interdicted include the Gigiri Sub County Police Commander, OCS Gigiri Police Station, Duty Officer, Duty NCO, Station Guards and Report Office Personnel.
He said the 12 Eritrean nationals were arrested for being illegally in Kenya and were waiting to be repatriated.
“Our preliminary investigations indicate that the escape was aided by insiders, considering that officers were deployed accordingly to guard the station,” he stated.
“Consequently, I have interdicted eight officers who were on duty.”
Masengeli said the matter is currently under investigation by the Internal Affairs Unit, and any person found culpable will face the law.
“We have launched a manhunt to re-arrest the escapees. We further appeal to members of the public with any information that may lead to the re-arrest of the suspects especially the murder suspect, Collins Jumaisi Kalusha to report to the nearest police station or through the police hotline numbers 999, 112, 911, and 0800 722 203,” he said.
Masengeli who visited the station was accompanied by director DCI Mohamed Amin and DIG Kenya police Eliud Lagat among other senior officers.
The team inspected where the suspects escaped and spent four hours at the station.
The officers also talked to the officers who were on duty and checked on the cells where the suspects were being held.
There were 17 suspects in custody at the time of the incident. Only four remained and have all been interrogated.
They said they did not know how the suspects escaped as they were asleep then.
Police on duty said the suspects cut a wire mesh at the station cells and scaled a wall before they used a window behind the station report office.
Police came to know of what happened as they woke up the suspects in custody for morning tea.
That was at about 5 am. They had escaped at about 3 am.
Gigiri police station is one of the modern stations in the country.
It is hard to break out of the station cells given the only exit there is through the report office.
That is why the officers on duty insist the suspects used the rear door on the first floor after leaving the cells to scale down.
It is however not clear how they could escape without being heard given the commotion they could have caused.
But after inspecting the station, the police bosses were not convinced it was an escape. They said the suspects were aided by insiders.
The officers on duty were grilled and detained pending investigations internally and possible arraignment.
Jumaisi is said to have admitted to killing women. He denied the charges in court.
Jumaisi and two others had been presented before Makadara courts to Principal Magistrate Irine Gichobi last Friday where the prosecution sought the court to allow them to detain the three accused persons for 21 days.
After submissions from both parties, the court ruled that Jumaisi, who is the main suspect, be detained at Gigiri Police Station for seven more days.
The investigating officer told the court that they have been able to identify six people from body parts recovered from the quarry, and they are likely to charge the suspects with the murder of the victims after the six files have been perused by the DPP for further guidance.