Multimedia University student Erick Mutinda Philip on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, denied killing his fellow student Sylvia Kemunto.
Mutinda was accused of killing Kemunto on the night of March 30, 2025, by strangling her as confirmed by the post-mortem report.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) requested to detain the accused for seven more days to enable them avail him for mental assessment.
However, lawyer Johnstone Daniel Jr representing the accused urged the court to grant his client a bail of Ksh100, 000 arguing that he has been cooperating with the investigating officers.
“We are asking this court to grant the accused a lenient cash bail since his family has only managed to raise Ksh100, 000 for the bail through fundraising,” lawyer Johnstone told the court.
Further, he told the court that the accused comes from a poor background and the family is facing hostility from the time the matter was exposed, adding that even raising the amount to bail the accused was strenuous.
“His background is poor and the only family member who is well up works as an Early Childhood Development (ECD) teacher in Sultan Hamud. They really strained to raise the Ksh100, 000,” lawyer Johnstone told the court.
He also stated that the accused is not a flight risk since he does not own a passport, adding that his place of abode is well known in Sultan Hamud, Makueni County.
Notably, he stated that the prosecution have not given enough grounds to have the accused person be detained further.
Kibera High Court Lady Justice Diana Kavedza – Mochache adjourned the matter and denied the accused bail pending probation officer report.
She also ordered the accused to be detained at the Nairobi remand until May 29, 2025.
Justice Kavedza also directed the accused to be taken for the mental assessment and both sides to serve each other with affidavits within seven days
On April 7, 2025, Kibera Senior Principal Magistrate Zainab Abdul granted police 21 days to continue detaining Mutinda at the Capitol Hill station to enable the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to complete its investigations.
The Investigative Officer (IO) Jairus Mutua, had stated that they needed time to conduct the deceased’s autopsy and also needed time to take the accused for a mental assessment.
The matter will be mentioned on May 29, 2025, fix a hearing date and get bail directions.