Tánaiste Kenya visit changed after 'serial killer' arrest

A number of bodies were retrieved from inside a quarry tunnel on Friday

Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Micheál Martin has cancelled a scheduled visit to a Kenyan township after a man alleged to be a serial killer was arrested on Monday.

The dismembered remains of nine bodies were discovered in a disused quarry in a suburban area which the Irish delegation had planned to visit on Wednesday.

Mr Martin said he was "disappointed" to cancel the visit to the Irish-funded Misean Cara health project in Mukuru, as a police operation continues in the area.

“That such an atrocity, multiple atrocities, could have occurred close to that is quite shocking,” the tánaiste told reporters in Nairobi on Tuesday.

“We have to await further details and background to this, but it’s quite shocking," Mr Martin added.

"One of the strongest contributions we make through our development humanitarian aid is to support women and young girls in particular."

It is understood the delegation’s trip was cancelled following security advice from the Ambassador of Ireland to Kenya on Monday evening.

Police say Collins Jumaisi Khalusha (right), 33, confessed to having killed 42 women since 2022

Kenyan police said that Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, confessed to having killed 42 women since 2022, including his own wife, after his arrest on Monday.

However, his lawyer told a court on Tuesday he was tortured into a confession.

The arrest has shocked the country - but many have serious questions about the circumstances of his arrest.

The tánaiste is visiting the region in his capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence

The tánaiste started a four-day visit to the Horn of Africa on Monday.

He met Kenya's President William Ruto on Tuesday to discuss cooperation on climate action, sustainable food systems and furthering trade connections between Kenya and the Republic of Ireland.

Mr Martin also launched €15m (£13m) three-year-initiative aimed at combating child wasting in the Mandera Triangle region of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

"Ireland knows all too well the horrors of hunger from its own history," the tánaiste said in a statement.

"Ireland is committed to contributing to ending the preventable tragedy of child wasting in the region by working closely with local communities, and our government and non-governmental partners," he said.

Mr Martin is expected to travel to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia on Wednesday.