Kenyan police on Monday said they had arrested a man who was suspected of dumping several dismembered bodies in a Nairobi slum.

The head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, said the 33-year-old suspect confessed to killing 42 women, including his wife, since 2022.

What else do we know about the suspected serial killer?

"We are dealing with a serial killer, a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life," Amin told reporters.

He said the suspect was arrested early in the morning on Monday near a Nairobi bar where he had been watching the Euro 2024 football finals.

Amin said officers managed to find the suspect after looking through one of the victim's mobile phones.

He said that the accused was "in the process of luring another victim" shortly before his arrest.

Police said the man's one-room house was located 100 meters (328 feet) from where the bodies were found. Officers discovered a machete, nylon sacks, rope, a pair of industrial gloves, a "pink female handbag" and "two female panties” at the suspect's home.

9 bodies found so far

Police said the bodies were discovered after relatives of one missing woman claimed to have had a dream in which they were told to search the garbage dump.

A total of 9 dismembered female bodies were found dumped in sacks at the site located in Nairobi's southern Mukuru slums.

Acting police Inspector General Douglas Kanja said officers in a nearby police station had been transferred in order to reinforce the investigations.

Locals had accused police of negligence due to unresolved missing persons cases filed in the area.

Kenyan law enforcement has been facing increasing scrutiny after dozens of protesters were killed in anti-government demonstrations.

sdi/ab (AP, AFP, Reuters)