A postmortem report has revealed that the slain Multi-Media University student Sylvia Kemunto died as a result of strangulation.
Government Chief Pathologist Johansen Oduor and Dr Ng’ang’a for the family said that the deceased exhibited signs of lack of oxygen and strangulation marks.
The report further revealed that the first year student had injuries consistent with defense wounds.
This means that Kemunto, 20, put up a fight before her killer overpowered her.
Dr. Oduor also found that the deceased was not pregnant and in the process of procuring an abortion as alleged.
The body of the deceased was discovered on Wednesday 2nd April 2024 in a water tank on top on one of the hostels.
Kemunto had been pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. She was a bright student scored an A- in KCSE.
Lawyers Danstan Omari and Shadrack Wambui called out the University for failing to protect the deceased and not showing empathy to the family.
According to the Standard Newspaper, her mother Trizzah Kwamboka spoke to her that Sunday morning and she told her she was fine.
“She said she was fine. I had church elders at home, and one had offered to send her some money for upkeep. I wanted to let her know so she would not be alarmed by an Mpesa message from a stranger, and reverse, she is not used to getting money from people she does not know,” the mother said.
She later tried reaching her but by that evening, her phone had become unreachable.
This made her worried so she decided to contact the University to check up on her.
What they found in her room was worrying as the room was in disarray.
“Clothes were scattered everywhere, water was left in a basin like she had been interrupted while doing laundry,” said Kwamboka.
She added that what was more troubling was that Sylvia’s suitcase was missing, yet her clothes were in the room.
It is alleged that after attack, the killer, a fellow student at MMU put her body in a suitcase and stayed with it in his room for several days before putting her in the tank.
The suspect, Eric Mutinda, carried the said suitcase from Block B to his own room in Block E.
Mutinda was summoned by security. He was seen with the missing suitcase that belonged to Sylvia.
When questioned, he claimed Sylvia had lent it to him after his got broken.
On Tuesday, with still no sign of Sylvia, a missing person report was filed at Lang’ata Police Station. The police accompanied her mother to the university.
Investigations began, and after grilling Mutinda, he said that the last time he saw Sylvia was Sunday at noon, and she appeared “visibly stressed.”
When asked to call his friends for questioning, Mutinda excused himself to make a phone call and vanished.
His roommate would later tell detectives that Mutinda spent the night with the suitcase, using it as a pillow and by morning, he was gone.
For three days, the whereabouts of Sylvia remained a mystery. Then, on Wednesday evening, a foul odour led the security to the rooftop of Block E where the horror was discovered.
Inside a sealed water tank, the decomposing body of Kemunto was discovered.
Mutinda was a primary suspect. He had vanished on Tuesday but resurfaced on Friday morning at Sultan Hamud Police Station, escorted by his parents after what sources describe as intense questioning from the parents.
