Jacqueline Maribe: My crime is being Jowie's lover

Journalist Jacqueline Maribe and Joseph Irungu alias Jowie at the Milimani Law Courts on Tuesday. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]

Former TV news anchor Jacqueline Maribe has accused the police of dragging her into the murder of Monica Kimani for being the fiancée of the main suspect Joseph Irungu alias Jowie.

Maribe's lawyer Katwa Kigen put the investigating officer, Chief Inspector Maxwel Otieno, to task to explain why he preferred the murder charges when she was not at the scene of the murder and had nothing to do with the victim.

“From the totality of the investigator’s evidence, it shows that the only reason he decided to charge Maribe with murder is because her vehicle was used by Jowie, her phone was switched off and that she gave contradictory statements,” said Mr Kigen.

Kimani was killed on the night of September 19, 2018, at the Lamuria Gardens Apartment in Kilimani, Nairobi.

When asked whether Maribe was in Jowie’s company when he left to Kimani’s place to commit the alleged murder, the investigator confirmed that they were not together and that they only met at a club in Westlands after the incident.

According to Mr Otieno, the only thing that suggested Maribe was aware of the murder was that she helped Jowie burn his clothes to conceal evidence, and her contradictory statements after she was arrested.

“I also connected her to the murder because of the blood samples from the deceased which were found in her house in a short that was worn by Jowie on the night of murder,” said the investigator.

A portrait of Monica Kimani during her burial at Kairi village in Gilgil, Nakuru County in September 2018. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Murder weapon

Asked if there was any connection between Maribe and the deceased, the investigator confirmed that they had no relationship and that the journalist did not have her phone number nor communicated with Kimani at any given time.

“I can confirm that none of Ms Kimani’s belongings were found in possession of Maribe. I did not also find any relationship between them on social media and that she was not in the car when Jowie left to go to Ms Kimani’s house,” he said.

Police also said the murder weapon was not recovered, and that the only thing recovered was a gun used by Jowie to shoot himself and lie that he was attacked by thugs.

Maribe’s efforts to clear her name came as their fate now lies in the hands of the court after the prosecution closed its case with the last witness.

The investigating officer was the last witness in the case, which has taken four years.

The prosecution called 35 witnesses and backed their testimonies with hundreds of exhibits to prove its case.

Lady Justice Grace Nzioka directed the prosecution and the defendants to file their submissions before she retires to make a decision on whether the suspects have a case to answer.