Former media personalities Jacque Maribe and Joseph ‘Jowie’ Irungu have now been put on their defence in a case where they’re accused of killing Monica Kimani.
The trial judge on Wednesday ruled that the prosecution had adduced enough evidence against the two suspects.
This comes after the last witness in the trial, Chief Investigating Officer Maxwell Otieno, in June last year placed Jowie – the first accused – at the scene of the crime in Lamuria Gardens on the night Monica is alleged to have been murdered.
The witness, who took the court through items collected during the investigations and submitted them as exhibits, told the court that Jowie and Maribe jointly murdered the 29-year-old Juba–based businesswoman in September 2018.
Officer Otieno said that through forensic analysis exhibited in call data, Jowie was captured leaving the scene of the murder at 2335 hours; this was confirmed by Jowie’s friend Jennings Orlando.
According to eyewitness accounts, Jowie was also the last known person to be with the deceased before her death.
The witness told the court that the two accused persons gave contradicting statements to investigating teams in relation to Jowie’s injuries at Maribe’s house in Royal Park Estate.
The two claimed Jowie had been attacked by thugs but investigating officers proved that the injuries were self-inflicted using a neighbour’s firearm.
The prosecution displayed items collected during the duration of the investigation and submitted them as exhibits.
These included specimens collected from the body of the deceased, Maribe’s car, apartment A8 at Lamuria Gardens, and Royal Park Estate where the jointly accused lived.
