Slain Multimedia University Student’s Phone Found in Church Offerings, Court Told

A pastor told the High Court in Kibera that church staff found a mobile phone belonging to slain Multimedia University student Sylvia Kemunto Ayaye among the offerings.

The witness, who also works as an administrator at Jesus Is Alive Ministries, said staff discovered an Oppo phone while counting collections on April 2, 2025, three days after Ayaye was allegedly killed.

“We kept the phone in safe custody until police officers came looking for it. They informed us that call data indicated that the deceased’s phone had been within the church compound,” the witness told the court.

The witness said church staff handed the phone to police officers who visited as part of their investigation into Ayaye’s death.

The testimony came during the murder trial of Erick Mutinda Philip, who prosecutors accuse of killing Kemunto on March 30, 2025, at the university campus along Magadi Road in Lang’ata, Nairobi County.

Silas Ochieng Elphine Otieno, who headed the university’s security department, also testified. He said the university received a report that Kemunto had gone missing and worked with investigators to trace her.

Otieno told the court that a search team found a decomposing body in a rooftop water reservoir tank at a university hostel on April 2, 2025. Police took over the scene and identified the body as Kemunto’s.

Another witness, fellow student Neununa Mounira Namatsi, described Kemunto as a close friend and classmate. She recounted trying to contact her after she went missing and described Kemunto’s relationship with Mutinda as toxic, alleging that he mistreated her.

Namatsi said Kemunto had considered moving to a hostel outside the university to avoid frequent encounters with Mutinda. Her mother, she told the court, advised her to stay at the university until she completed her studies.

Derrick Higai Luther, who shared a hostel room with Mutinda, testified about their accommodation and their interactions with university security staff during the period under investigation.

Meghan Nasserian Kihara, who had previously shared a room with Kemunto, also told the court what she knew about the student and what she learned after the body was found.

Mutinda faces a charge of murdering Kemunto on March 30, 2025, at Multimedia University in Lang’ata Sub-County, Nairobi County.

The post Slain Multimedia University Student’s Phone Found in Church Offerings, Court Told appeared first on Nairobi Wire.