Mobile phone of missing woman found with prime suspect in Kware murders.

A mobile phone belonging to Christine Mwende Mathina, a woman who has been missing since February 2024 in Mukuru slums, Nairobi, has been found among the belongings recovered from suspected serial killer Collins Jumaisi Khalusha.

Christine Mwende Mathina was last seen in the same area where her phone was discovered. This discovery raises the number of identified victims from the 13 bodies found at the Kware dump site to three.

As of Friday, police have identified three families whose testimonies could support murder charges against the accused. These families are those of Josphine Mulongo, Roselyne Akoth, and Christine Mwenda.

The recent developments followed a report from Christine’s family at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters, stating their search for their missing daughter. According to their account, Christine’s mobile phone went unanswered on February 27, 2024, around 6:00 PM while she was in Mukuru Kwa Njenga.

Christine, who sold Safaricom lines in the larger Embakasi area, had plans to meet her boyfriend, Brian Ngumbao, that evening. Brian, traveling from Thika to Mukuru Kwa Njenga, was in constant contact with her. However, when he tried calling Christine’s two Safaricom numbers around 6:00 PM, they were not answered. By 6:30 PM, Brian received a call from a male voice claiming that Christine had gone to buy food but would be back soon. The call was cut off shortly after, and Christine’s phones went dead.

Brian arrived at Christine’s house to find it locked, though he had keys. Inside, he discovered Christine’s purse, containing her ID card, and some clothes. Neighbors reported seeing Christine enter her house in the morning, change clothes, and then leave. Brian waited all night, but Christine did not return. He informed her parents in Kitui County, who advised him to keep searching.

On February 29, Brian filed a missing person report at Villa Police Station, which led to the involvement of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. After a few days, Christine’s belongings were removed from her rental house due to unpaid rent. On July 12, 2024, the family learned of bodies being recovered from a dump site in Kware and subsequently reported Christine’s case to the DCI on July 18.

The IMEI number of Christine’s phone matched one recovered from Khalusha’s residence, confirming that Khalusha had possession of her phone. The family was advised to visit City Mortuary for identification and DNA sampling. Investigations are also underway to analyze call data records to determine any prior communication between Khalusha and Christine.

DCI Director Mohamed Amin confirmed on Monday that Khalusha confessed to killing 42 women between 2022 and July 11, 2024, with his first victim being his wife, whom he strangled, dismembered, and disposed of at the dump site. All victims were reportedly killed in the same manner.

Khalusha was arrested on Monday morning in Kayole following a joint operation by DCI and the National Police Service. The search at his residence yielded 24 Airtel SIM cards, eight smartphones, a laptop, a hard drive, two flash drives, a machete believed to be used in dismembering the victims, 12 nylon sacks similar to those used to stuff the bodies, industrial rubber gloves, six ID cards for men, two for women, a pink handbag, two female panties, five rolls of cannabis, four large clear cello tapes, a reflector jacket, two title deeds, two notebooks, and assorted documents.