It is end of the road after the Court directed that Mr. Joseph Irungu alias Jowie to serve a death over the death sentence over the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani.
In a Judgement delivered today by the High Court, Justice Grace Nzioka said the judgment is the appropriate punishment considering the offence and the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence and its repercussions.
Hon.Lady Justice Nzioka added that the evidence presented in the case did not lead to the conclusion that the death was accidental.
“It was planned, intended and it was executed. In a murder, one person’s life ends but countless lives are impacted,” she said.
Irungu had pleaded to be spared the death sentence and asked the judge to pass a custodial sentence.
The sentencing had been postponed from last Friday to today after Justice Grace Nzioka raised the issue of parties in the case dragging the matter and not filing their submissions on time during the period she gave them.
The judge said that she had given all the parties close to a month to file their submissions but they failed to do so in due time and gave her a hard time delivering the sentence.
Kamiti prisons where Jowie is likely to spend the rest of his life.
Irungu was last month found guilty of the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani on the night of September 19, 2018, while his co-accused Jacque Maribe was acquitted. The court on the same day also cancelled Irungu’s bond.
However, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has since filed a notice of appeal against the High Court’s judgement that acquitted Maribe.
The notice, filed by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions O.J. Omondi, expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling delivered by Justice Nzioka.
Despite Maribe’s acquittal of the murder charge, the judge highlighted that she had given contradicting information while recording her earlier statements on how Jowie sustained a gunshot wound.
Justice Nzioka termed this offence as giving misleading information to a public servant and left it to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to decide on the appropriate action.
While delivering her verdict, Justice Nzioka noted that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Irungu killed Kimani and that there was no evidence that Maribe communicated with her or was at her house on the night of the murder.
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