Missing Multimedia varsity student found dead in rooftop water tank

The body of a missing Multimedia University (MMU) student was recovered from one of the water tanks in a case of suspected murder.

Sylvia Kemunto, a first-year Mass Communications and Computer Science major, went missing on Sunday, March 30. Her decomposed body was discovered on Wednesday, April 2, police and the institution said.

She had been strangled and hit by a blunt object, and the motive is yet to be known, police said.

Police are looking for her boyfriend, who is a prime suspect in the murder.

The search for Kemunto started on Sunday when her mother, Triza Kwamboka, who lives in Kawangware, failed to reach her.

She said she had sent her upkeep money through a church elder's phone, but her calls went unanswered when she tried to confirm whether her daughter had received the funds. Growing concerned, Kemunto's mother traveled to the university, only to discover that her daughter was missing.

The school management confirmed her absence, prompting the mother to file a report at Lang'ata Police Station.

The mother told police Kemunto had complained about a fellow student who was making advances on her, but she was resistant.

“She said she did not like him, and I told her to stand firm,” said Kwamboka as she wiped tears on her cheeks.

Police investigations show the student may have been killed in her room and the body later dragged to the rooftop of the hostel where the water tanks are and dumped there.

The killers then tied the tank with a wire and placed a stone there, ostensibly to deter any detection.

On the day Kemunto went missing, her roommate said she went to church and left her alone in the room.

That day, the said boyfriend visited her in the room at about lunch hour.

Witnesses told police they later saw the man drag a suitcase belonging to the deceased student from her room to his room in a different block.

It is suspected the suitcase contained the woman’s body.

Later that night, the man’s roommate reportedly noticed the suitcase in their room, but it was missing the following morning.

The witness said he saw the suspect lie on the suitcase but did not understand what the motivation was.

“The next morning, I woke up around 8 and noticed that both the guy and the suitcase were gone,” the witness said.

The report of the missing student prompted police investigations, which traced her phone signal within the university compound.

It was switched off but showed it was still within the compound near Ongata Rongai, said Nairobi police boss George Sedah.

This prompted the school management to initiate a search on campus.

On Wednesday, a foul smell emanating from Block E caught the attention of the search team.

By afternoon, the source of the odor was identified and traced to a water tank on the rooftop of one of the hostels. Kemunto’s decomposing body was discovered therein before it was moved to the mortuary, police said.

MMU acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Geoffrey Kihara said the police are looking for the missing student linked to the murder.

“It is clear that on that day Sunday when the girl was reported missing, the boy entered her room. The police are trying to locate the boy,” he said.

Fellow students at the college want justice in the murder.

Detectives are hunting for the suspect to understand the motive and establish if he acted alone.

The incident adds to the rising number of murders targeting women amid efforts to address the trend.