The last witness in the Monica Kimani murder trial, Chief Investigating Officer Maxwell Otieno placed the first accused Joseph Irungu alias Jowie at the scene of the murder in Lamuria Gardens on the night Monica is alleged to have been murdered.
The witness, who took the court through items collected during the investigations and submitted them as exhibits told the court that Joseph Irungu and Jacque Maribe jointly murdered the 29-year-old Juba-based businesswoman in September 2018.
In his statement, officer Otieno said through forensic analysis exhibited in call data, the accused was captured leaving the scene of the murder at Lamuria gardens at 2335 hours. This was confirmed by Jowie’s friend Jennings Orlando:
“Jennings met Jowie at 11:40 pm where the accused met him on foot at a petrol station before boarding the vehicle belonging to the 2nd accused person Jacque Maribe,” submitted the officer.
According to eyewitness accounts, Joseph Irungu was also the last known person to be with the deceased before her death.
The witness told the court that the two accused persons gave contradicting statements to investigating teams in relation to Joseph Irungu’s injuries at Jacque Maribe’s house in Royal Park Estate. The two claimed Jowie had been attacked by thugs but investigating officers proved, the injuries were self inflicted using a neighbour’s firearm.
According to the officer, the two were spotted at Club 40 Forty in Westlands together almost immediately after the incident on the 20th of September until 4am.
On the same day, Jowie met his neighbour Brian Kassaine who questioned the accused on why he had asked for anything flammable. The accused responded by saying he wanted to burn something, which he did outside their residence.
The accused further claimed that a friend had stabbed someone the previous night. Upon conducting a search in a trench in front of the accused persons’ compound, investigating officers recovered some partially burnt materials resembling a white kanzu.
Eyewitnesses including Jennings Orlando, a neighbour to the deceased and guards at Lamuria Gardens during interrogation said the accused, Joseph Irungu, was in a white kanzu, a maroon cap and grey coat on the night of the murder.
Officer Otieno said the second accused person Jacque Maribe witnessed the burning of the clothes by the first accused on the night of the incident near her residence. Further, Jacque switched off her phone at about 2225 hours which officer Otieno estimates to be the time of murder and switched it on at 0952 hours on September 20, 2018.
The prosecution displayed items collected in the duration of the investigation and submitted them as exhibits. They included specimen collected from the body of the deceased, Jacque Maribe’s car, apartment A8 at Lamuria Gardens, and Royal Park Estate where the jointly accused lived.
The hearing has been adjourned to July 11th this year.