Sylvia Kemunto murder: Eric Mutinda confessed to killing Kemunto in late-night call

The accused Eric Mutinda before Kibera High Court/JAMES GICHIGI 

The High Court has heard testimony from a witness who told the court that murder suspect and Multimedia University student Eric Mutinda confessed to killing fellow student Sylvia Kemunto during a late-night phone call.

The witness, a second-year student at the university and Mutinda’s former high school mate, testified under protection following court directions on anonymity.

In the Monday’s session, he told the court that he had known Mutinda since high school and described him as “calm, bright, and friendly, with no disciplinary issues both in high school and at university.”

“I did not suspect him because he was calm,” the witness said.

According to his testimony, Mutinda initially told him he was staying at his sister’s place in Kasarani after Sylvia went missing.

He also recalled that Sylvia’s phone was once answered, but no one spoke on the other end.

The witness said that on March 31, 2025, Mutinda called him and said Sylvia’s mother had contacted him, demanding that he return a suitcase to the hostel room.

On April 3, 2025, amid widespread campus gossip and discussions on a WhatsApp group known as “MMU Gossip Club,” the witness said he spoke to Mutinda again about the accusations circulating online.

Later that night, he alleged Mutinda made a shocking confession.

“He told me he is the one who killed Sylvia by strangulation, holding her neck tightly, packed her in a suitcase, and took her to his room,” the witness testified.

He added that Mutinda claimed he accessed the hostel through a back door near Block E, which he said had CCTV cameras installed.

The witness said he was stunned by the confession and questioned him on how he had managed to do it and whether anyone had helped him.

“I asked him who helped him, but he wouldn’t tell me,” he said.

According to the witness, Mutinda told him the matter “shall remain a secret” and claimed he later travelled to Tanzania using his father’s car, though this assertion was challenged by the defence during cross-examination.

He told the court that he advised Mutinda to surrender himself if he was innocent.

“I advised him that if he was innocent, he should surrender himself,” he said, adding that he mentioned informing his brother-in-law.

During cross-examination by defence lawyer Johnstone Junior, the witness maintained that advising the accused to surrender was consistent with his belief at the time.

The defence challenged the credibility of the alleged confession, asking whether the witness’s account was influenced by rumours circulating on campus and online discussions.

Defence counsel Junior questioned whether the witness’s advice to the accused to surrender himself was consistent with someone who genuinely believed the confession was true, to which the witness responded that it was “an indication of innocence.”

The defence further pointed out inconsistencies in the witness’s statement, including claims that Mutinda had travelled to Tanzania using his father’s car, which counsel argued was speculative as the family allegedly did not own a vehicle.

The witness conceded that the statement was more an expression of possibility, saying it was “more of ‘ata naeza enda Tanzania’,” rather than a confirmed fact.

The court also heard testimony from two witnesses, including the accused’s roommate and Sylvia Kemunto’s roommate, who gave accounts of the days surrounding the student’s disappearance and death.

Eric Mutinda’s roommate told the court that on the night in question, he returned to their room at around 10pm and found Mutinda behaving unusually.

“When I entered the room, I saw Eric trying to lie on a suitcase, which felt uncomfortable,” the witness said.

He testified that Mutinda later “shifted it along the table beside his bed” and lay in a position where he could see the suitcase.

“He was looking at the suitcase, then I fell asleep,” the witness told the court.

He said that by morning, at around 7.30am, Mutinda was not in the room.

When he returned at about 8am, Mutinda spoke about his missing girlfriend and claimed her mother was accusing him of knowing her whereabouts.

The witness said Mutinda did not sleep in the room that night and returned the following day to wash his clothes.

“That’s when DCI came in,” he said, adding that he later heard of Mutinda’s disappearance.

On Thursday, the witness said Mutinda called him to ask about the case.

“I told him the DCI was looking for him, and he replied he would avail himself.”

Sylvia Kemunto’s roommate, also testifying under a request for anonymity, told the court she last saw Sylvia on the morning of Sunday, March 30, 2025, before leaving for church.

When she returned at around 4pm, she found the room in disarray.

“The room was messy, her bed was messy, and there was a bucket with soaked clothes scattered,” she said, adding that a piece of an electric kettle was broken on the table.

She said Sylvia was missing and later reported that Eric told her Sylvia had come to borrow a suitcase.

The witness said Sylvia’s mother later visited the hostel, and they discovered wet clothes in Sylvia’s bag.

“Her suitcase was missing,” she testified.

On Wednesday evening, the witness said she was informed that Sylvia’s body had been found at Block E, a male hostel.

“I identified the pants as hers,” she said, noting that the body was partially covered.

“It was traumatic seeing her body,” she told the court.

Kemunto’s body was found in a water tank on the rooftop of a hostel building within the institution.

Mutinda denied the murder charges.

The trial continues on March 16, 2026.