Five Kenyan policemen arraigned over jail break of suspected serial killer

By Humphrey Malalo

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Five Kenyan police officers were arraigned on Wednesday, accused of helping a suspected serial killer and 12 others escape from a police station in the capital Nairobi, court documents showed.

Prosecutors asked the court to detain the policemen, who were on duty during Tuesday's jail break, for two weeks to allow officers to complete an investigation into their alleged involvement.

Prosecutors asked the court for more time to collect statements, scour CCTV footage and examine the policemen's phones.

Among the escapees was Collins Jumaisi, arrested last month over the murder of at least six women whose bodies were discovered wrapped in plastic bags in an old quarry, which is now used as a rubbish dump.

Police say Jumaisi admitted to killing 42 women including his wife, but his lawyer told a court he was tortured into making a confession. Prosecutors deny he had been mistreated.

Preliminary investigations showed that insiders aided the escape, police said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that they had launched a man-hunt to re-arrest the escapees.

A police report seen by Reuters said Jumaisi and 12 Eritrean nationals were discovered missing from their cell at about 05:00 (0200 GMT) on Tuesday, and were thought to have escaped by cutting through a wire mesh over the window in their cell.

(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Christina Fincher)