A Kenyan man was allegedly caught carrying his wife’s corpse in his backpack

Police in Kenya have arrested a man who was carrying a mutilated corpse in his backpack, which he said belonged to his 19-year-old wife.

Officers came across John Kiamu Wambua, 29, while on patrol in Huruma, an area east of Nairobi, before dawn.

Suspecting that Wambua was carrying something illegal, they searched his backpack and “to their shock” found body parts, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said in a statement.

This is far from an isolated case – Kenya has one of the highest rates of femicide, or gender-motivated murder, in Africa.

After police officers questioned Mr. Wambua, he told them the body parts belonged to his wife, Joy Frieda Munani, the DCI said in a statement.

He appeared to be “unfazed” by the officers’ discovery, the report said.

After questioning, Mr Wambua led officers to his home where they found a knife under his bed, blood-soaked clothes and other body parts.

The DCI described the act as “horrific”, adding that the suspect will be formally charged with murder at an upcoming court hearing.

At least 97 women were killed between August and October last year, the Kenya National Police Service said.

In December, hundreds of women took to the streets of the capital Nairobi to protest the recent spate of femicides. The police reportedly met them with tear gas.

There have been several high-profile murders of women in Kenya. In September 2024 Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegai was killed by a former partner.

A 33-year-old woman has died days after she was doused with petrol and set on fire at her home in western Kenya.

In July, police arrested Collins Jumaysi Halush, who they described as a “serial killer,” after the mutilated bodies of nine women were found in an abandoned quarry.

Mr. Halusha escaped from custody a month later and seems to still be on the run.

Earlier that year, in a case that caused widespread outrage, a young woman named Rita Vaeni was brutally murdered for short-term apartment rent. Police said she was dismembered and stuffed into a plastic bag.