Ex Citizen TV news presenter Jacque Maribe has been appointed as the Head of Communications at the Public Service Ministry.
This follows her acquittal of a murder charge.
Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria made the announcement on Sunday days after Maribe was cleared in the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani.
Maribe, who had been charged alongside her former fiancé Joseph Irungu, alias Jowie, was acquitted of the murder of the businesswoman who was killed at her apartment in Nairobi’s Kilimani area in 2018.
Justice Grace Nzioka ruled that there was insufficient evidence linking Maribe to the murder, emphasizing that the prosecution had failed to provide substantial proof of her involvement in the crime.
On February 13, the ODPP however said it is appealing against a decision to acquit Maribe in the murder of Kimani.
Also Read: Monica Kimani Murder: Court Pushes Jowie’s Sentencing to March 13
The DPP in its notice of appeal said they are dissatisfied with the decision of trial Judge Grace Nzioka that acquited Maribe in the murder case and they will appeal part of the judgment that set her free.
While acknowledging Maribe’s culpability for providing false information to the police during the murder probe, Nzioka emphasized that she was not appropriately charged before the court.
Maribe’s ex-fiancé, Jowie, was found guilty of Monica’s murder and is awaiting sentencing on March 13.
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.
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.
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