Joseph Irungu alias Jowie, the man charged with the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani, has now sued the government over alleged mistreatment while in custody.
Jowie’s lawyer Hassan Nandwa, on Friday, filed an application at the Milimani Law Courts seeking orders to compel prison authorities to stop subjecting him to inhuman treatment.
Citing “cruel treatment” at the hands of prison warders, Jowie wants the court to order Commissioner of Prisons to escort him to Kiambu Police station to report an assault incident while he was detained at Kamiti Maximum Prison.
He alleges that a Mr Lekulal assaulted him physically assaulted him with other warders at Kamiti.
Jowie also claims that one of the senior prison warders at the facility threatened to kill him.
In the application that lists state and commissioner of prisons as respondents, Jowie is also seeking orders to be taken to Kiambu Level 5 Hospital for a medical examination as well as documenting injuries he suffered at the hands of the “bullish” warders.
Read: Jowie Reportedly On Hunger Strike At Manyani Prison, Family Says He is In Bad Shape
“It is only fair and just in the wider interest of injustice that the applicant reports his assault for legal action against the prison officers culpable,” said Jowie’s lawyer.
Jowie, who is remanded at Manyani Prison in Voi, Taita Taveta County, alleges that he is mixed with inmates serving jail terms for capital offences.
His cell, he says, is infested with lice and snakes.
In a sworn affidavit, Jowie’s father, Julius Irungu, details that his son recently confided to him that a prison warder at the prison had threatened to throw him into a hole where it will be hard for his family to find him.
Read Also: Why Jowie Was Secretly Transferred To Distressful Manyani Prison
Recently Julius intimated to the media that his son has been on a hunger strike following his transfer to hardship Manyani Prison on December 6, 2019.
Julius said that the son, who was secretly transferred from Kamiti Maximum Prison on Friday over alleged possession of contrabands, is in bad shape.
“I was meant to understand that since his transfer on Friday, Jowie was yet to eat. When I asked him why he had refused to have his meals, he told me that he had a gut-feeling his food was contaminated. He was in bad shape,” said Jowie’s father.
Read Also: Puzzle As Jowie Allegedly Transferred To Voi, Parents Question Motive
Jowie, according to Julius, decried isolation in a “dark, dingy and simply uninhabitable” cell.
“My son is wondering why out of the 3, 000-plus inmates in Kamiti, he was the only one who was transferred to Manyani Maximum Prison in the so-called routine exercise,” said Julius.
Earlier, Jowie’s mother had also expressed her fears that the prison officers can’t be trusted and might be plotting to harm her son.
Read Also: Mystery As Jacque Maribe’s Pictures Deleted From Jowie’s Instagram Page, Other Uploaded
“The prison officer says it’s a normal transfer but our lawyer says he has never heard of something like that. He has been taken to Manyani and his next appearance in court is in February. It’s like they want to do something to him,” said the devastated mother.
The suspect, whose previous bail applications have been denied for allegedly being a flight risk, further sought to assure the court that if released he had no intention to go anywhere.
The bail application is set to be ruled over on February 13, 2020.
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