Citizen TV presenter Jacque Maribe and businessman Joseph Irungu ‘Jowie’ yesterday urged the court to acquit them in a case where they are charged with the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani for lack of evidence.

In their final submissions, the two through their defence lawyers led by Prof Hassan Nandwa told trial judge Grace Nzioka they were maliciously charged with murder.

Maribe and Jowie denied killing Monica,  instead claiming that she might have been killed by an unknown man at her house on the fateful night in 2018.

Nandwa referred the court to a testimony by one of the prosecution witnesses who told the court that he found the DNA of an unknown male in Monica’s house.

The court heard that Maribe did not know Monica and that she never participated in the killing of the deceased as claimed by the Prosecution.

But the Prosecution led by Assistant DPP Gikui Gichuhi dismissed their statements, saying the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the two jointly and severally murdered the deceased.

“We urge the court to place Jowie and Maribe on their defence as the prosecution has discharged its burden of proof in respect of each accused person and the Court should hold that they have a case to answer,” said the prosecutor. 

Gichuhi says all events leading to the murder and subsequent “lies” made up by Maribe to the police show that she planned with Jowie to kill Monica.

“This points to a calculating mind that planned ahead with Jowie to ensure the murder of the deceased,” Gichuhi says.

Gichuhi says Maribe and ‘Jowie’ were principal offenders, had a common intention and acted in concert to eliminate the deceased person.

She relied on a Court of Appeal judgment that held that aiding and abetting generally means assisting in the commission of a crime or to be an accomplice.

“It is not necessary that the aider and abettor had knowledge of the precise crime that was intended and which was actually committed, as long as he was aware that a crime would probably be committed, including the one actually committed,” the submissions read in part.

The State further asked the court to consider the fact that Maribe made no attempt to disassociate herself from the actions of Jowie and instead helped him to burn evidence.

“The demeanour of ‘Jowie’ and Maribe should also be taken into account at the time of investigations which entailed giving false information to the police during the trial where the accused in some cases missed court proceedings or did not comply with bail conditions granted,” Gichuhi claimed.

The court heard that the two accused persons worked in conjunction to ensure that Jowie had the transport, a menacing weapon and the opportunity to cause the death of the deceased. The prosecution also asked the court to note that Maribe assisted Jowie to burn evidence outside her house.

“Maribe knew that Jowie had gone to the home of the deceased on the night of September 18 and went as far as announcing the sad news on Citizen TV on August 20, 2019 knowing full well what had happened,” she claimed.

However, defence lawyer Nandwa told the court that the officer from the Government Chemist said he conducted DNA analysis on the items collected from Monica’s house. They included samples from glasses, fridge, clothes, leftover food, and gloves found in the bathroom and his conclusion was that Jowie’s DNA was not present on any of those items.