Authorities have apprehended a suspected serial killer, two months after he staged a dramatic escape from custody.
Ruben Karakacha Mukhwana was arrested on Wednesday, January 7, with reports indicating that he was apprehended in Kitale Town while attempting to buy second-hand clothes.
Further reports suggest that the arrest was not straightforward, as police had to disperse an enraged crowd that was calling for the suspected serial killer’s blood.
In an attempt to disperse the crowd, police fired several rounds into the air, causing residents in Kitale Town to flee from the scene before Karakacha was taken into custody.
His arrest brought to an end a wave of uncertainty on his whereabouts, as residents of Kitale were particularly concerned that he was at large after learning of his crimes.
In October, the suspect was facing two murder charges as well as an additional robbery with violence charge.
He was initially arrested in September 2024 after being found in possession of a mobile phone belonging to a deceased bodaboda rider, who had been murdered and had his motorbike stolen.
Investigations by authorities uncovered a more sinister discovery when a woman’s body was found at the suspect’s residence.
Karakacha was subsequently arraigned at the Kitale Law Courts in October but managed to outsmart security personnel, escaping custody by misleading guards into thinking he needed to use the bathroom.
In August 2024, a similar case occurred, where Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, who confessed to killing 42 women, including his wife, escaped from police custody.
Khalusha escaped alongside 12 others, with police speculating that the suspects were aided by insiders. The suspects escaped by cutting through a wire mesh roof and scaling a perimeter wall.
According to the DCI, the suspect is still at large, with authorities urging anyone with information leading to his arrest to share it anonymously through hotlines 999, 911, and 112.
