Investigators told the High Court that the suspect used a route near hostel blocks that limited exposure to surveillance systems as he transported the body after the killing.
Proceedings at the Kibera Law Courts were marked by emotional testimony from family members and witnesses as prosecutors outlined events following Kemunto’s death in 2025.
Her mother, Teresiah Kemunto, broke down while recounting her daughter’s disappearance, prompting the presiding judge, Lady Justice Diana Rachel Kavedza, to briefly pause the session.
A key prosecution witness under protection told the court that the accused, Eric Philip Mutinda, admitted responsibility for the killing during a phone call made days later.
The witness said the accused explained that Kemunto was strangled inside her hostel room and her body placed in a suitcase.
The court heard that the suspect then moved the suitcase through an access point behind one of the hostel blocks where cameras were present but visibility was limited.
Further testimony from university students supported the sequence of events presented by investigators.
Kemunto’s roommate told the court she returned from church to find their room locked and in disarray with Sylvia missing.
Another student testified to seeing the accused struggling with a suitcase on the same day Kemunto disappeared.
The court also heard evidence from the accused’s roommate, who stated that he later found him resting with his head on a suitcase believed to have been used to transport the body.
Kemunto’s remains were eventually recovered from a water tank within the hostel area.
Mutinda has denied the charges. The trial is scheduled to continue in March 2026 as more witnesses are expected to testify while the prosecution seeks to establish motive, movement and intent.
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