Jowie statements that sealed his fate in Monica Kimani murder case - judge

Convicted murderer Joseph Irungu alias Jowie, who has been handed a death sentence for the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani, may have made statements that worsened his case.

His sentence remains in force unless the Court of Appeal sets aside the judgement Justice Grace Nzioka handed on Wednesday.

According to the judgement, Jowie killed Kimani at her rented house at Lamuria Apartments in Kilimani, Nairobi, by severing her head on the night of September 18, 2018. He had denied committing the murder during a trial that lasted close to six years.

But in his mitigation before the sentence, Jowie said he conveys sadness at such a tragic and callous loss of life, and in extreme circumstances bordering on an act of absolute madness that is beyond understanding even to himself, who stands convicted of the act.

"In the face of being convicted of the murder, with the knowledge that her family has suffered and will continue to suffer the pain and sorrow of her loss, and with the understanding of the terrible fear and pain that Monica Kimani must have endured, I can only humbly plead for leniency during sentencing," he stated in his mitigation.

While delivering the sentence, Justice Nzioka highlighted this statement as having made clearer the gravity of what Jowie did. She said the evidence presented in the case did not lead to the conclusion that the death was accidental.

Jowie had told the court to consider that he was staring at a death sentence despite having been convicted purely on circumstantial evidence, urging the court to ignore the prayer by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

In addition to the statements that appeared to have aggravated the case, a social inquiry report filed by probation officer Andrew Kanyotu stated that Jowie "lacked stable partner relationships, had an antisocial personality, was impartial, a thrill seeker, and used his anger to control others".

Additionally, the officer who investigated the case, Chief Inspector Maxwell Otieno of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Homicide Unit, asked for a maximum sentence, saying he was a violent person who was reported to the police on allegations of assault while the murder case was pending in court.

The assault case did not, however, land in court as it was resolved in time.

While delivering the sentence, Justice Nzioka said all these details did not favour the murder convict and that the death sentence was the appropriate punishment considering the murder, the circumstances surrounding its commission, and its repercussions.

"It was planned and intended, and it was executed. In a murder, one person's life ends, but countless lives are impacted," she said.

Meanwhile, Kimani's family expressed satisfaction with the ruling. Her brother George Kimani lauded the ODPP and other parties "for doing a good job" that led to the conviction and sentencing.

The family had asked the court to hand Jowie a death sentence in its victims' impact report.

Jowie had urged the court to take notice of a contradiction between the family and Kimani's father, Bishop Paul Ngarama, who earlier said he had forgiven her daughter's killers and did not want retribution.