Rwandan court hands life term to serial killer who hid bodies in kitchen

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – A Rwandan court Friday sentenced to life imprisonment a serial killer who was arrested over allegations that he killed people and dumped their bodies in a mass grave in the kitchen of his rented home.

Denis Kazungu, whose trial opened in January, was sentenced at the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court in Rwanda’s capital Kigali.

The 34-year-old was charged with multiple counts, including murder of 14 people, rape as well as desecration of corpses.

The court “found Denis Kazungu guilty of all the charges leveled against him.”

Kazungu pleaded guilty to all charges during the trial but had requested for a lighter sentence.

He admitted he used to lure his victims, mainly sex workers, from bars, raped and robbed them of mobile phones before strangling them.

Augustin Shyirambere, a former landlord of Kazungu, said that he always faced challenges accessing his premises for routine inspections until he asked local authorities for intervention.

He occupied the house in April 2022, initially paying rent well but he later changed and started to delay his payments giving varying excuses, according to Shyirambere.

He added that by the time of arrest, the tenant had defaulted on rent for about seven months and also ignored eviction orders.