Five police officers were arraigned in a Nairobi court today, a day after they were detained on suspicion of aiding and abetting the escape of a serial killer who is still wanted by the authorities.

33-year-old Collins Jumaisi, suspected of murdering dozens of women, escaped on the night of Monday to Tuesday with 12 other prisoners – irregular immigrants from Eritrea – from a police station in the Kenyan capital.

He was arrested on July 15, a few days after the body bags were discovered, in a Mukuru slum dump in the southern suburbs of Nairobi.

According to the authorities, who describe him as a “psychopath, serial killer” and a “vampire”, Collins Jumaisi confessed that in the last two years he murdered 42 women, first of all his wife.

The verdict of the court is expected tomorrow Thursday for the five policemen – four men and one woman – who were on duty at the police station at the time of the escape. Three other suspects were taken into custody on Tuesday, but it is not clear if and when they will be brought before a court.

During the hearing, the prosecutor claimed that other accomplices are also on the run, without going into further details.

“Initial investigations indicate that the escape was facilitated by accomplices as a large number of policemen had been deployed to guard the departmentInterim Police Chief Gilbert Massengelli said yesterday.

The escape was discovered on Tuesday morning, during “a routine visit to the cells at around 05:00 (…) in order to serve breakfast”, says a police report, obtained by the French News Agency (AFP). . “When they opened the cell door, (the police) discovered that 13 prisoners had escaped by cutting the metal fence” in the courtyard area, he says.

It is the second time in less than six months that a suspect in a high-profile case has managed to escape during his pre-trial detention.

In February, a 41-year-old Kenyan man who was due to be deported to the US, where he is accused of murdering his partner, escaped from a Nairobi police station by walking out of the building. But he was arrested after six days.