The police in Kenya have arrested a man over the serial killing of women.

The suspect reportedly confessed to killing 42 women, including his wife, since 2022.

The dismembered bodies of the victims, said to be aged between 18 and 30, were found on Friday at the Mukuru quarry in Nairobi.

The police cordoned off the dump site where the bodies were found in various stages of decomposition.

According to the BBC, the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Jomaisi Khalisia, was arrested at a bar on Monday morning while watching the Euro final.

Mohamed Amin, the police head of the directorate of criminal investigations (DCI), said Khalisia’s arrest followed a “forensic analysis” of a mobile phone that belonged to Josephine Mulongo Owino, one of the victims.

Amin said the suspect led police officers to his house, which was about 100 metres from the crime scene, where they found a machete they “believed was being used to dismember the victims”, and nine sacks like the ones used to dispose of the bodies.

The police also recovered 10 phones, a laptop, identity cards and personal female clothing.

Police said they were still interrogating the suspect to establish the motive behind the killings, adding that he would be arraigned on Tuesday.

The police asked families “who believe that their beloved ones may have fallen prey to these macabre murders” to report to the police.

“It is crystallising that we are dealing with a serial killer, a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life, who has no respect and dignity,” Amin said.

He said a second person with a phone belonging to one of the victims has also been arrested and would be treated as an accomplice or suspect.