On Sunday, March 30, Sylvia Kemunto, a first-year student pursuing Mass Communications and Computer Science, stayed in her dormitory as her roommate left for church, and that was the last time she would see the light outside her window.
A few hours before midday, love-struck Philip Eric Mutinda, also a first-year student at the same university, crept into her room on the third floor in Block B, and after being rejected, he did the unthinkable.
According to a detective privy to the investigation, Mutinda revealed that he visited Kemunto’s room that day, knowing she would be alone.
Erick Mutinda Phillip a student at Multimedia University before Kibera law courts on April 7th 2025. He is being investigated for the murder of fellow student Sylvia Kemunto.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
He said he had been trying to seduce her, but she resisted. A confrontation ensued when he tried to touch her, during which he hit and pushed her, causing her to hit her head on the wall and collapse. He said he realised she was dead minutes later.
“The fight turned fatal. He panicked, dumped the body in the tank, and fled,” said a police officer involved in the investigation. “The tank was in use at the time,” he told the police during interrogation.
According to his roommate, that Sunday afternoon, he walked in and saw Mutinda trying to fit in a suitcase, which he said that he found it odd.
Later that night, his roommate reportedly noticed the suitcase in their room was missing by the next morning.
“I came in the evening and found the guy with the suitcase. He was trying to lie on it like it was a pillow, but it seemed uncomfortable, so he placed it beside the desk. The next morning, I woke up around 8 and noticed that both the Mutinda and the suitcase were gone,” the witness said.
Police said that the suspect allegedly folded Kemunto’s body into the suitcase, took it to his room briefly, then dumped it in a rooftop water tank.
The suspect, after committing the heinous act, fled the scene and went into hiding.
He would later surrender to the police near his hometown in Sultan Hamud, Makueni County—more than 120 kilometres from the university.
“The suspect surrendered at the Sultan Hamud Police Station and is currently in custody. We are conducting thorough investigations to establish the motive and circumstances surrounding this tragic incident,” Nairobi Police Commander George Sedah said on Thursday.
Kemunto’s decomposing body was found three days later in the rooftop water tank. The search for Kemunto began on Sunday, March 30, after her mother, Triza Kwamboka, who lives in Kawangware, Nairobi, was unable to reach her.
She later went to the university, only to discover that her daughter was missing. The school management confirmed she was missing, and the matter was reported at the Langata Police Station.
The administration block at Multimedia University of Kenya.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Detectives privy to the investigation believe Kemunto was killed in her room and later put in a suitcase before she was dumped in the tank.
Investigators from Langata Police Station later traced her mobile phone signal within the university compound located near Ongata Rongai, but it was switched off.
On March 31, the school management initiated a search, but it was not until April 2 that a foul smell emanating from Block E caught the attention of the search team.
MMU acting Vice Chancellor Geoffrey Kihara said the source of the odour was identified and traced to a water tank on the rooftop of one of the hostels.
Kemunto’s decomposing body was discovered in the tank, which had been tied by a wire and a stone placed on top.
Her body was transferred to the city mortuary and an autopsy has been planned to determine how she died.
“It is clear that on Sunday, when the girl was reported missing, the boy entered her room,” he said.
“As an institution, where are we heading? What is the guarantee and safety of our girls around men? Those are the questions we are asking,” said MMU students’ union Secretary-General Okari Okengo.
