SYLVIA KEMUNTO: KEY Suspect Describes How He Killed MMU Student
A university student accused of murdering a fellow student at Multimedia University (MMU) claimed the victim died after he hit her during a fight.
Police identified the culprit as a first-year Electrical Engineering student.
He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, April 7, as investigators seek to detain him further for the investigation into the death of Sylvia Kemunto, 20.
Detectives have yet to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
On April 3, the suspect surrendered to police at the Sultan Hamud police station in Makueni County, after being on the run since March 31.
He is thought to have gone to his remote home after reportedly murdering Kemunto and hiding her body in a water tank at the campus.
MMU student murder probe
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) April 4, 2025
Suspect arrested in connection with Sylvia Kemunto’s death
Eric Mutinda surrenders to police in Makueni
Kemunto’s decomposing body discovered in a water tank
Detectives return to Multimedia University for more clues#CitizenFridayNight@lillian_muli pic.twitter.com/v8NuxMPqO0
Kemunto, a first-year student studying Mass Communication and Computer Science, reportedly died on March 30.
The suspect said authorities he went to Kemunto’s room that day, knowing she would be alone. He said he was trying to seduce her, but she refused.
When he tried to touch her, a fight broke out, during which he hit and pushed her, causing her head to hit the wall and collapse. He claimed he discovered she had died minutes later.
He allegedly placed her body in a huge bag, transported it to his room briefly, and then dropped it in a rooftop water tank.
“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.
Triza Kwamboka, Kemunto’s mother, began looking for her daughter on March 30 after failing to contact her.
Concerned, she went from Kawangware to the university and discovered Kemunto was absent.
The college confirmed her disappearance, and a report was made to the Lang’ata Police Station.
Kwamboka informed police that her daughter had previously complained about a fellow pupil making unwanted attempts.
Police suspect Kemunto was murdered in her room and dragged to the rooftop. To evade detection, the killer strung a wire around the tank and placed a stone on top of it.
Her roommate informed authorities that she had left for church that day, leaving Kemunto alone.
Witnesses then witnessed the guy bringing luggage from Kemunto’s room to his own in another block.
That night, the suspect’s roommate discovered the suitcase in their room, but it was gone the next morning.
“The next morning, I woke up around 8 and noticed that both the guy and the suitcase were gone,” the roommate said.
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Police traced Kemunto’s phone signal to the university grounds. It was later turned off near Ongata Rongai, resulting in a campus-wide search.
On April 2, a foul odor led the search team to Block E, where Kemunto’s decomposing body was located in a water tank on the rooftop and sent to the mortuary.
An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death.
The crime adds to the escalating number of killings aimed at women in the country.
SYLVIA KEMUNTO: KEY Suspect Describes How He Killed MMU Student
