5 Areas Questioned By Dennis Onsarigo In Jowie & Maribe Murder Case

Former KTN journalist Dennis Onsarigo on Tuesday, February 13 raised five issues with the verdict that found Joseph Irungu, alias Jowie, guilty of murdering businesswoman Monica Kimani.

Lady Justice Grace Nzioka had on Friday, February 9 found that the prosecution had proved to the court that the security personnel committed the offence of murder. However, Jowie's co-accused, Jacque Maribe, was set free.

Onsarigo, who built his media career through investigative showstoppers such as the series; Case Files aired on KTN poked holes into the judge's guilty verdict imposed on Jowie;

How Jowie Gained Entry Into the Apartment.

The former journalist questioned how Jowie managed to pass through security with ease while entering the late Kimani's apartment using another person's identity. It was revealed that he used the identity of Dominic Bisera Haron, a resident whose ID went missing two weeks prior.

"Mind made up, he is allowed into the apartment, not as Jowie but as Haron. Did the guard call Monicah to say “ Madam Haron is here, can he come in?” to which Monicah replied “Give him the phone I talk to him” only to find it Jowie and allow him to come up?" posed Onsarigo.

"Or did the guards - assuming one or two of them were on duty the past few days when Jowie visited realise he is posing as Haron and just let him in?"

Onsarigo also questioned if the ID possessed Haron's face or if it was Haron's but with Jowie's mugshot.

The court had notably ruled that the theft of the ID card as well as its subsequent use on the same day indicated that the murder was premeditated.

"The question that arises whether the first accused stole the ID card or it is by coincidence that the card was stolen from the estate where he was staying and was later used at the apartment by a person wearing the same clothes inter alia; a maroon cap, white kanzu which witnesses testify were the same clothes the first accused was wearing," read part of the ruling. 

Three Men

Onsarigo also indicated that Monica had allowed Jowie into the apartment despite being in the company of three men, raising the question of whether a suspect with a motive to kill her would risk being identified by other people.

He believed that this would have compromised his chances since the other men would have easily placed him as the last person to be seen together with the deceased.

"Let's move into the house: Jowie has fooled all the guards and gone into the building as Haron; knocks on the door, Monicah lets him in and still determined to kill Monicah, finds her in the company of three other men…. Remember he still has ten minutes.? 

"Dressed in a kanzu and Monicah not showing any signs of distress, jokes about his dressing...in fact, one of the men says he “felt at home”," he posed.

Justice Nzioka had confirmed that Jowie was the last person seen with Monicah. She cited The Doctrine of Last Seen which states, "The person who is last seen in the company of another who is later found dead, is called upon to explain the circumstances under which the deceased met his or her death." 

Monica Not Warning The Men That She Was In Jowie's Presence.

Onsarigo pointed out that Jowie was calm within the 10-minute window and had even joked about how he messed up the Kenyan data system to the point one could get away with anything. 

With Monica failing to signal the men that she was in Jowie's presence, the three men would leave and after this, Jowie tied up Monica, led her to the bathroom, lighting candles around the bathtub and slit her throat ear to ear.

Escape After 10 Minutes

Onsarigo also wondered how the whole plot could be executed within 10 minutes, which was also questioned by Jowie's defence team.

"Not a single drop on his kanzu, no resistance, he walks out of the house exactly after ten minutes... Walks past the nightguards but not before telling them “Goodbye soldiers”. The court says there was an error when the guard entered Jowie’s entry and exit time," he added.

Justice Nzioka disputed the ten-minute timeframe, noting that there was an error when the guard entered Jowie’s entry and exit time.

The prosecution also highlighted the Kanzu argument, arguing that Jowie carried extra clothes, particularly a white Kanzu which he wore before going to the deceased's house and changing, hence pointing out a reason for carrying the said clothes to commit the offence. 

DNA Slip Up

The former Nyamira County Chief of Staff referred to the court's ruling that Jowie failed to cover up his murder well. He had burnt his clothes but forgot to burn his shorts, which the prosecution had relied on to trace a drop of blood.

It was this piece of evidence among other circumstantial ones that was believed to have nailed him. The DNA from the blood matched that of Monica.

However, Onsarigo presumed that the ropes used to tie Monicah had the DNA of two other people and Jowie, questioning how the judge did not probe the evidence further.

"Jowie told the judge, wait a minute, but there was evidence also that the DNA from the straps used to tie Jowie did not belong to him but to two other people. The judge agreed that indeed the DNA belonged to two other people and that is why he was charged before a court of law as having committed the murder with “other people before the court”," he went on.

"And again, even if the DNA was discovered on the straps, there is a possibility the straps having been purchased from a shop could have seen DNA transferred onto them."

The judge had ruled that the DNA of the two men was not found on the body of Monica and thus did not connect them to the murder. 

"Jowie’s DNA was not found on Monicah’s body and this gets me thinking what if his DNA was found on a glass in the house? Could the judge have said he is innocent because it wasn't discovered on Monica’s remains?" the former journalist wondered.

"There were several men in Monicah’s house, on the straps that tied her and maybe on the knife that slit her throat open…without blood gushing out."

Ahead of Jowie's sentencing on March 8, 2024, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) moved to file a notice of appeal against the High Court judgment that acquitted Maribe in the murder case.

Jowie's lawyer, Hassan Nandwa, also indicated that the murder convict would appeal the guilty verdict at the Court of Appeal after his sentencing.