Blunder That Forced Jowie, Jackie Maribe Murder Case Ruling To Be Postponed

The High Court on Friday, December 15 postponed the ruling on former Citizen TV anchor Jackie Maribe and Joseph Irungu alias Jowie's murder case to January 26, 2024, having initially set for December 15, 2023.

Trial Judge Grace Nzioka who was to deliver the judgement on Friday and who heard the case from Naivasha where she is currently based revealed that she received the exhibits which were crucial in helping her determine the case as late as yesterday, hours before the ruling could be made.

"I took time to write the judgement. We've made progress. But on Monday I discovered that when the file was sent to me not all exhibits were sent to me," the judge said.

The judge added that after making requests for them to be sent on Monday, December 10, she got to receive them on Thursday at 7 o'clock in three sacks.

Furthermore, the exhibits could not be sent by courier services as Lady Justice Nzioka was in Naivasha yet the exhibits were in Nairobi, and due to the nature of the goods, any other party outside the ruling was not authorized to handle them.

In her virtual submission, Justice Nzioka clarified that she had yet to complete scrutinizing part of the submitted exhibits.

She confirmed to other judges attending the virtual session that she received “three gunny bags” of exhibits and thus needed more time to pursue all of them as clothing, and bottles among others.

This is the second time the judgement was postponed, with the first coming on October 6, 2023, when the ruling was initially meant to be delivered. The judge postponed the ruling to December 15 due to illness.

Before the new dates were settled on, Jowie had pleaded with the court to grant him an earlier date, requesting for December 21, 2023, while Maribe requested a date in January 2024, before the parties settled on the January 26, 2024 judgement.

Jowie had pleaded with the judge to deliver the judgment before the Christmas holiday, arguing that it had been a long and agonizing wait for him and his family.

Maribe and Jowie were accused of participating in the murder of Monica Kimani, who was killed at her apartment on September 19, 2018. 

The prosecution has presented over 44 witnesses, with the judgment expected to determine whether Jowie and Maribe are guilty or not.