A court has postponed the sentencing of Jowie Irungu in the Monica Kimani murder.
Jowie who was convicted of murder in February will be sentenced on March 13, Justice Grace Nzioka ruled.
Justice Nzioka noted that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the victim’s family and Jowie’s lawyer filed their submissions late.
The judge said that the prosecution filed its submissions (pre-sentencing report) last evening while the victim’s family filed its submissions on Friday morning.
As such, the defense team did not have enough time to respond to the submissions by the prosecution and Kimani’s family.
Read: Jowie to be Sentenced in the Murder of Monica Kimani
Jowie was found guilty of the murder on February 9, which brought the murder trial that began in 2018 to a close.
The court found that the prosecution had adduced adequate evidence and proved beyond reasonable doubt that Jowie indeed killed Monica.
Former TV news anchor Jacque Maribe, who was charged alongside Jowie, was however acquitted of the murder charge, with the judge stating that the count of murder was not the proper charge that the prosecution would have preferred against her.
“Having considered the evidence in this matter it is the finding of this court that the prosecution has adduced adequate evidence and has met the threshold… It is the finding of this court that the first accused person murdered the deceased,” ruled Justice Nzioka.
“The first accused person stole the ID of Dominic Bisera two days before the commission of the offence, armed himself with a gun, carried a Kanzu, put it over his clothes, went to Lamuria gardens, disguised his identity, gained access to the apartment of the deceased, murdered the deceased, left the deceased’s house, changed his clothes and eventually went home and burnt the clothes which he wore during the commission of the offence.”
In Maribe’s case, the judge ruled that the evidence adduced by the prosecution against her did not place her in the house of the deceased on the fateful night therefore exonerating her from the charge.
“There was no evidence that she had ever communicated with the deceased. The evidence that the prosecution has brought before this court on the second accused person relates to events of September 20, 2018, and that is the shooting incident,” noted Justice Nzioka.
Read Also: Monica Kimani Case: Jowie Found Guilty of Murder
The judge however pointed out that Maribe had been found to have given contradicting information while recording her earlier statements on how Jowie sustained a gunshot wound, terming the offence as giving misleading information to a public servant.
She said it is upon the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to decide on what action to take.
“The office of the DPP knows their mandate. The resolve is that the prosecution did not adduce adequate evidence for this court to find the second accused person of the offence of murder of Monica Nyawira Kimani on the night of 19th September 2018. The first accused person is convicted on the charge (murder) while the second accused person is acquitted of the charge,” concluded the judge.
On February 13, the ODPP however said it is appealing against a decision to acquit Maribe in the murder of Kimani.
The DPP in its notice of appeal said they are dissatisfied with the decision of trial Judge Grace Nzioka that acquitted Maribe in the murder case and they will appeal part of the judgment that set her free.
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