Police Questioned for Unresolved Crimes targeting Women

By MWINGI TIMES CORRESPONDENT 

Kasalu said at least four women have been raped, brutally murdered, and their bodies dumped in bushes over the past three months, creating fear among residents.

She criticized the police for what she described as inadequate efforts to address the disturbing trend, suggesting that a serial killer could be behind the crimes.

"There are a number of women who have been raped and gruesomely murdered. I want to urge the police to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and brought to justice," said an apparently irate Dr Kasalu.

The Woman Representative lamented that cases of rape and murder involving women have been reported almost every two weeks in Kitui Central over the past three months.

"It is unacceptable that women continue to lose their lives in such horrific circumstances while no arrests have been made," she said.

Kasalu spoke on Wednesday during a meet-the-people tour of Voo/Kyamatu Ward in Kitui East Sub-county, where she was also seeking to popularize her 2027 gubernatorial bid.

"All we want to hear is that the police have apprehended the culprit. These incidents appear to be linked, and it could be a serial killer targeting our people," she said.

She noted that many women in Kitui Central are now living in fear due to the rising number of rape and murder cases, adding that the matter cannot be allowed to remain unresolved.

Kasalu questioned why no arrests had been made despite the growing number of incidents, accusing the police of laxity in handling the cases.

Last week, a middle-aged woman was found murdered and naked in the Kalundu area of Kitui Town. She was the fourth victim of rape and murder reported in the area within the last three months.

A few days earlier, the decomposing and decapitated body of a woman was discovered in a bush along the banks of the Tyaa River on the outskirts of Mwingi Town, near the Mwingi–Thika Highway.

Weeks before that, the body of a prominent Mwingi businesswoman and contractor was found dumped beside the Mwingi–Thika Highway near Kithyoko Town in Machakos County.

Efforts to reach Kitui County Police Commander Martha Ngetich for comment on the rising cases of femicide in the county were unsuccessful.

Ngetich told journalists that she was attending a series of security meetings and would communicate her availability to address the matter at a later date.