Kenyans need answers on serial killer’s escape
What you need to know:
- The killing of the suspect brings to a sudden end the multiple charges that were lined up against him.
- He goes to the grave without shedding light to his maniac acts that occasioned 12 deaths.
The lynching of suspected serial killer Masten Wanjala in Bungoma on Friday morning was a major blow to the country’s justice system. It was an anti-climax to the high drama the country has been treated to since the youngster was arrested in July and taken through long and what looked like a rigorous evidence-search episode accompanied by criminal investigations officers.
Questions abound about the whole drama. How could a high-risk suspect walk easily out of police custody and daringly make an unnoticed trip to his rural Bungoma village, more than 400 kilometres away? What are the safeguards in police cells? Aren’t there security systems to monitor and contain suspects in custody? Was he aided to escape? If so, for what reason? Simply put, how are suspects managed within police cells?
The killing of the suspect brings to a sudden end the multiple charges that were lined up against him. He goes to the grave without shedding light to his maniac acts that occasioned 12 deaths and left families in deep pain and anguish. His accomplices, if any, and intentions may not be known.
Things are made worse by the fact that villagers resorted to lynching Wanjala. Precisely, that could be seen as a protest message to the authorities. It is a demonstration that citizens did not have faith in the justice system. But it also raises broader issues. Police cells are porous, cases drag on for too long in courts and often the penalties are lenient. This should alarm all of us. When citizens lose confidence in the justice system and established order, then the alternative is chaos.
While acknowledging that three police officers are in court over Wanjala’s debacle, the public still demands proper explanation and assurances that the entire system will be reviewed to ensure nothing of the sort happens in future. Police Inspector General Hilary Mutyambai and Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti must tell the public what happened and how they seek to safeguard the justice system.
