Police in Rongai, Nakuru County say they have arrested a 19-year-old man linked to a string of “brutal murders” in what they call “a significant breakthrough”.

Ezekiel Mwangi has been on police radar and “is believed to be the mastermind behind several heinous crimes”, police said on Tuesday.

“On July 14, 2024, he allegedly defiled and murdered five-year-old Alice Ayuma Blessing, dumping her body in a maize plantation in the Mwangaza area,” said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

“On August 7, 2024, in Kalyet, he is suspected of killing 34-year-old Mueni Mwalimu by striking her on the head with a blunt object and stabbing her in the stomach.”

The investigative agency added that on August 8, 2024, at Mustard Seed in Kiamunyi, along the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway, Mwangi allegedly raped and murdered 28-year-old Moraa Mugambi by hitting her on the head with a rungu.

He is held at Menengai Police Station pending arraignment, detectives added.