Judgement in Monica Kimani murder postponed with Maribe unwell
The judgment of former TV presenter Jacque Maribe and her ex-fiancé Joseph Irungu alias Jowie in the murder of businesswoman Monicah Kimani has been adjourned to March 15, 2024.
Justice Grace Nzioka adjourned the judgment that was to be delivered on January 26, 2024, following an application by Ms Maribe’s lawyer Katwa Kigen who told the court that his client was “gravely indisposed.”
The prosecution and Mr Irungu’s lawyer did not object to the application for adjournment.
This is the second time the judgment has been postponed.
In the other incident in 2013, the judgment was postponed on request by the court, leading to Maribe publicly complaining about the decision on her socials.
Maribe and Irungu have been battling murder charges since October 15, 2018.
The 28-year-old woman was murdered in her Lamuria Garden apartment in Kilimani area, a Nairobi suburb, on the night of September 19, 2018, after arriving in the country from South Sudan.
When they were charged, Justice John Wakiaga released Ms Maribe on bond but declined Mr Irungu’s request saying he was a flight risk, and had no fixed home, among other reasons.
Mr Irungu was later granted a bond.
The strict bail terms also ensured Ms Maribe, who’s previously worked with Citizen TV and K24 TV did not get to read news on television as has been the case in the past.
The two deny murdering the businesswoman who was based in South Sudan at the time of her murder.
Her body was found in the bathtub with her throat split, in a murder that shocked the nation with consistent calls for justice.
The court heard that Ms Kimani had visitors on the night she met her death including a man with a white kanzu.
The investigations concluded that the deceased could have been murdered by someone ‘well known to her’.
Ms Kimani’s family, which has been ever-present at the trial, has mourned her as a hardworking woman who also was a bread winner and courageous enough to move to South Sudan in search of business opportunities.
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