A pastor has told the High Court in Kibera that a mobile phone belonging to murdered Multimedia University student Sylvia Kemunto Ayaye was discovered among church offerings, days after she disappeared.

The pastor, an administrator at Jesus Is Alive Ministries, testified on Tuesday that the Oppo phone was found on April 2, 2025, as church officials counted offerings.

“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,” she told the court.

The testimony came during the murder trial of Erick Mutinda Philip, who is accused of killing Kemunto on March 30, 2025, at Multimedia University along Magadi Road in Nairobi's Lang'ata Sub-County.

The court also heard how Kemunto's decomposing body was discovered inside a rooftop water tank at a university hostel.

Former university security chief Silas Ochieng Elphine Otieno testified that a search team found the body on April 2, 2025, following reports of the student's disappearance.

Police were alerted and took over the scene before the body was identified as Kemunto's.

Another witness, Neununa Mounira Namatsi, a close friend and classmate of the deceased, described Kemunto's relationship with the accused as toxic.

Namatsi alleged that Mutinda mistreated Kemunto, prompting her to consider moving to a hostel outside the university to avoid frequent encounters with him.

However, her mother reportedly advised her to remain in university accommodation until she completed her studies.

Namatsi also recounted her unsuccessful attempts to contact Kemunto after she went missing.

Derrick Higai Luther, who shared a hostel room with the accused, testified about their accommodation arrangements and interactions with university security officers.

Meghan Nasserian Kihara, Kemunto's former roommate, also testified about her relationship with the deceased and information she received following the discovery of the body.

The prosecution continues presenting evidence in the case against Mutinda, who faces a murder charge over Kemunto's death.

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