Jowie Irungu Guilty Of Monica Kimani Murder, Jacque Maribe Freed

Joseph Irungu, alias Jowie, has been found guilty of the murder of Nairobi businesswoman Monica Kimani in 2018.

Subsequently, former Citizen TV anchor Jacque Maribe has been acquitted of the murder of Kimani.

For Jowie, Lady Justice Grace Nzioka indicated that the prosecution had proved to the court that the security personnel committed the offence.

For Maribe however, the judge noted that there was no concrete evidence to prove that the former news anchor was involved in the murder which occurred on September 19, 2018.

Jowie Irungu Judgment

Before the judgement, Justice Nzioka raised the following questions:

1. Whether Jowie Irungu knew Monica before her death
2. Whether he stole and used the stolen I.D to access where the deceased was staying
3. Whether the clothes he was wearing implicate him in the commission of the offence
4. Whether he was in the deceased house
5. Whether he was the last person to be seen with the deceased
6. Whether he had a gun and whether he was positively identified on the identification parade.

Justice Nzioka found that Jowie deliberately misled the court by denying any prior acquaintance with the late Monica Kimani, as she found conclusive evidence contradicting his assertions, establishing his prior knowledge of Monica Kimani before her tragic demise.

In 2023 during the trial, Jowie told the court that he never knew Kimani and never visited her city residence in Kilimani the night she was killed.

While defending himself against allegations of murdering Monica, Jowie told Justice Nzioka that he was not at her house in Lamuria Gardens when she was killed in September 2018.

“I never visited Monica at her residence and l never talked to her since l did not know her. I knew her brother George Kimani,” Jowie told the court.

"The 1st accused (Jowie Irungu) claimed he did not know the deceased at all. George Kimani, the deceased’s brother submitted that Jowie and Monica Kimani were in the same class in 2002 taking the same course in hotel and beverage management," the judge countered.

The court further agreed with the prosecution's evidence that the security personnel was the last person to be with the businesswoman before her death.

"When the Doctrine of Last Seen is applied, the law presumes that the person last seen with the deceased was responsible for their death, and the accused is supposed to present an explanation of what happened," she stated.

Furthermore, the court found that Jowie stole the identification card of Dominic Bisera Haron, a resident of the same Langata Road estate where Jowie and Jackie Maribe resided.

The ID presented to the guard by a person entering Monica's apartment complex on the fateful day had gone missing at the Royal Apartments, where Jowie and Jacque were residents, just two days before the tragic murder.

Jacque Maribe Judgment

For Maribe, the prosecution filed the following accusations against the former journalist:

1. She was in the vicinity of the commission of the murder.
2. The vehicle used in the commission of the offence was hers.
3. She aided and abetted the first accused person (Jowie) by providing the car.
4. She switched off her phone at the time of the murder.
5. She gave police false information regarding a shootout involving Jowie to mislead police investigations.
6. She was aware of the destruction of evidence which would have been used in the murder case. 

"It is the finding of the court that the second accused person's statement made on the gun shooting was false," the judge ruled.

How Jowie and Jacque Maribe Got Involved

Monica Kimani was found murdered at her apartment in Nairobi in September 2018. The businesswoman had just arrived in the country from South Sudan before she was found murdered in her bathtub.

After investigations were launched into the matter, police arrested Jowie upon accusations of murdering the businesswoman. Police accused Jowie of being among the last people to be with the businesswoman in her apartment.

10 days after the murder incident, Maribe was arrested by police, with the former journalist accused of taking part in the murder. The case that dragged on for more than five years saw 35 witnesses testify.

Former Citizen TV Anchor Jacque Maribe and Jowie Irungu in court on Friday, February 9, 2024. /ALINUR MOHAMED

Cause of Monica Kimani's Death

There was an irregular inversive wound on the neck caused by a sharp object as well as bruises on the wrists of both legs.

According to the Court, the person who murdered the businesswoman possessed military-like training and intended to kill her instantly.