The much-anticipated judgement of former television news anchor Jacque Maribe and Joseph Irungu alias Jowie accused of murdering businesswoman Monica Kimani has been postponed to March 15, 2024.
The court decision was expected on Friday, January 26, but Lady Justice Grace Nzioka pushed it to the new date after Maribe failed to appear in court because she was sick.
Maribe's lawyers, led by Katwa Kigen, informed the court that she fell ill on Friday morning and was unable to attend the physical court proceedings.
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"I confirm Maribe is not in court as she is indisposed and on her way to the hospital. The nature of her disposition is confidential. We ask the court to excuse her since she is willing to participate in the proceedings virtually," Katwa told the judge.
As a consequence, Justice Nzioka ordered Maribe to ensure she appeared in court in March for the delivery of the Judgement on the Kimani murder case.
Nzioka noted that all parties must be physically present in court as a measure of the integrity of the judicial system.
"There's no provision for virtual today, and if you tell me you're unwell, I don't know where you are. The integrity of the court proceedings must be observed. I would rather have an open court appearance," Justice Nzioka explained.
She postponed the verdict, saying she could not render her decision when one of the accused was absent. Jowie was, however, present, ready for the court decision.
The judge is set to rule on whether the two former lovebirds who are largely implicated with having a hand in the killing of the youthful businesswoman are guilty or not guilty before setting a date for the sentencing.
Businesswoman Kimani was killed on September 19, 2018, hours after she arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from her business trip in Juba, South Sudan.
When the trial came to a close in May last year, the prosecution, in their submission, urged the court to find the accused person guilty of the murder, arguing that the evidence they adduced pointed out that Jowie was the principal offender while Maribe was an accomplice who knew everything that happened but engaged in a cover-up.
The prosecution, through state counsel Wangui Gichui, presented 35 witnesses, some of whom were under witness protection, and several pieces of documentary evidence to prove the case against Jowie and Maribe, who at the time were living as a couple at Royal Park Estate in Lang’ata.
According to the prosecution, they pieced together evidence against Jowie's movement via his phone number, which revealed that on the night when Monica died, he was at Kileleshwa and in the Kilimani area.
Reconstruction of Jowie's movements
While reconstructing how it all began, lead investigator officer Maxwell Otieno narrated to the court how Jowie’s movement on the material day started at Road House Grill in Kilimani, where he spent the evening on September 19, 2018, drinking with friends.
Jowie is said to have arrived at the restaurant at around 6 pm using Maribe’s car while in the company of two friends.
At around 8 pm, he left the venue for Lenana Road, where he took a taxi to Monica’s house at Lamuria Gardens, which he accessed using a stolen ID card, and went to House Number 8 on Block A, where Monica stayed.
“It was a well-executed plan where the accused person (Jowie) stole an identity card at their Royal Park Estate residence and used it to access Lamuria Gardens, where he committed the murder, went back and burned the clothes, and borrowed a gun to shoot himself,” Otieno told the court in his evidence.
According to Otieno, investigations revealed that three men visited Monica’s house on September 20, 2018, soon after she returned from Juba, South Sudan, before she was found dead in her bathtub hours later. The officer revealed that the businessman took drinks with three people, whom he named as Owen and Walid.
