Police in Kenya have arrested a man after nine dismembered bodies of women were found in a quarry in the capital, Nairobi.

Officers said Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, had confessed to killing 42 women, including his wife, since 2022. They gave no evidence to support his claim of killing 42 people.

He is expected to be arraigned in court on Tuesday.

Police said several smartphones and identity cards were found in his house a short walk from from the quarry.

Crowds of people watch from the edge of a quarry
People watch from the edge of a quarry where human remains were found (Andrew Kasuku/AP)

Officers said the bodies were discovered after relatives of one missing woman claimed to have had a dream in which she directed them to search the quarry.

The relatives asked a local diver to help, and he discovered the bodies wrapped in sacks.

Acting police inspector general Douglas Kanja said officers in a nearby police station had been transferred to make way for investigations.

Locals had accused police of negligence due to the proximity of the quarry and the unresolved missing persons cases filed there.

A statement signed by human rights groups over the weekend urged Kenya’s security agencies to “to expedite investigations into all reports of enforced disappearances”.

There were initial concerns that the bodies could be linked to abductions and arrests of young people during recent anti-government protests.