National

Jowie Irungu's sentencing over Monica Kimani's murder postponed to next Wednesday

Joseph Irungu alias Jowi at the Milimani Law Courts on March 8, 2024. (Photo: Joseph Ndunda/EV)

By Joseph Ndunda | Friday, March 8, 2024

Justice Grace Nzioka raised the issue of parties on the case dragging the matter and not filing their submissions on time.

The sentencing of convicted murderer Joseph Irungu alias Jowie found guilty of the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani has been postponed to Wednesday next week.

Justice Grace Nzioka raised the issue of parties on the case dragging the matter and not filing their submissions on time during the period she gave them.

Keep reading

Judge Nzioka lamented extensively that she had given all the parties close to a month to file their submissions but they failed to do so in due time and gave her a hard time delivering the sentence.

The judge said she lost her mother-in-law this week and abandoned responsibilities where she is preparing her final journey, to raise the final curtain on Jowie's case but others have failed her.

She said that she had called for the file on Thursday morning but it was availed to her at 4 pm which she noted was still within her working time.

She said only the State Department of Probation and Aftercare Services filed the pre-sentencing report but they were also late. The family of the deceased had also not filed their submissions.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions filed its submissions today indicating that Jowie did not have a previous conviction and can be treated as a first-time offender.

Jowie's lead lawyer Professor Hassan Nandwa sought for seven days to prepare their submissions and mitigation.

Joseph Irungu alias Jowie (right) with his lawyer Prof. Hassan Nandwa at the Milimani Law Courts before his sentencing on March 8, 2024. (Photo: Joseph Ndunda).

But Justice Nzioka declined and said the submissions must be filed on Monday next week to allow her time to read them before preparing her judgment.

Irungu was last month found guilty of the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani on the night of September 19, 2018, while his co-accused Jacque Maribe has been acquitted.

However, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) later filed a notice of appeal against the High Court's judgement that acquitted Maribe.

The notice, filed by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions O.J. Omondi, expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling delivered by Justice Nzioka.

Despite Maribe's acquittal of the murder charge, the judge highlighted that she had given contradicting information while recording her earlier statements on how Jowie sustained a gunshot wound.

Justice Nzioka termed this offence as giving misleading information to a public servant and left it to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to decide on the appropriate action.

Delivering her verdict, Justice Nzioka noted that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Irungu killed Kimani and that there was no evidence that Maribe communicated with her or was at her house on the night of the murder.

The court also cancelled Irungu's bond.