Erick Mutinda Philip, accused of killing ex-girlfriend in court. The ODDP has opposed his bail application. Photo: ODPP
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has opposed the release of Erick Mutinda Philip on bond. Erick is charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend Sylvia Kemunto Ayaye, a 20-year-old first-year student at the Multimedia University of Kenya.
Through the office persecuting Counsel Peris Maina, the DPP told the court to note of the skyrocketing and alarming rise in cases of femicide in the country, that sparked public debate and demostartions, and use the basis to deny the accused Erick a bond.
She stated that releasing the accused on bond could endanger the community and disturb public order, peace, and security. The court was further informed that Erick poses a flight risk, as he allegedly fled the university premises after committing the offence and contacted a prosecution witness, expressing his intention to cross the border into Tanzania.
Further, the DPP also noted that nine of the prosecution witnesses are students from the accused’s university, including classmates and his roommate, cautioning that there is a strong likelihood that the accused could interfere with key witnesses if released.
Erick is accused of murdering Kemunto on March 30, 2025 at Multimedia University of Kenya. The two were previously in an alleged intimate relationship, which reportedly ended in February 2025. It is alleged that Erick visited Sylvia in her hostel room to discuss their breakup. During this encounter, he is said to have strangled her manually, placed her body in a green suitcase, and transported it to his hostel room. The body was later discovered in a half-filled water reservoir on the rooftop of the building where the accused resided.
A post-mortem report confirmed the cause of death as asphyxia due to ligature strangulation, as well as head injuries resulting from blunt force trauma.
The case comes as the former deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza, is chairing a technical committee on femicide, which was formed by President William Ruto, to report on the causes and solutions of increased femicide cases in the country.
The committee reported that in the 2024, 594 women were reportedly killed in femicide and domestic violence related incidents, with human rights activists calling on president William Ruto to declare femicide a national disaster.
