A Rwandan citizen, Kazungu Denis, 34, admitted guilt on Thursday for the murder of 14 individuals, following the grim discovery of a pile of bodies buried in a hole within his kitchen. He faced multiple charges, including murder, rape, forgery, impersonation, and desecration of human corpses.
During a crowded court session in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, Kazungu affirmed the accuracy of the prosecution’s allegations when asked by the judge. He claimed, “Yes,” in response. Kazungu, brought to the hearing in handcuffs by the police, later had them removed.
Kazungu had been detained earlier in the month after law enforcement discovered 12 bodies, predominantly women, in a hole within his rented kitchen in a Kigali suburb, where he resided alone. “In his statement, Kazungu admitted to having two victims, although 12 bodies were found in the hole,” the prosecutor informed the court, noting that the other two victims remained undiscovered.
He would lure his victims from bars to his residence, suddenly assaulting them with blunt objects, restraining and disrobing them, and then taking their belongings. Subsequently, he would coerce them into revealing their phone passwords and withdraw money from their phones. Afterward, he would kill them and dispose of their bodies in the hole.
The prosecutor stated that some victims managed to escape and provided information to the police about the assaults. Kazungu requested a closed-door trial, stating, “There are grave crimes I committed, and I do not want the details to be uncovered by the media or for such specifics to incite others like me to replicate my actions.”
However, the judge insisted that the case would continue to be heard in public. A decision on bail is scheduled for a hearing on September 26. Kazungu had initially been arrested in July on suspicion of robbery and rape, among other offenses, but was granted bail due to insufficient evidence, as stated by the police.
When the suspect was re-arrested in early September, a police source informed AFP that he confessed to learning how to kill his victims, most of them being sex workers, by watching films about notorious serial killers. Media reports indicated that Kazungu had held various positions, including working as an English teacher.
