How police netted Jowie and unravelled Monica murder mystery

A neighbour, a Lebanese national, had earlier visited Kimani but could not access her house as it was locked.

The neighbour knew Kimani loved baked bread and had made it a habit to share breakfast with her.

On the fateful day, the neighbour left the bread outside her door after he failed to reach her on the phone. There was no response from her house, Fatuma recalls.

Joseph Kuria Irungu aka Jowie.

Also, the investigators were able to get corroboration from the man whose gun was used in the murder of Kimani.

Together with the testimony of the people who were present at Kimani's house, it was evident that Jowie was involved in the murder.

Police said Maribe, who was exonerated by the court, did not provide the much-needed information despite persuasion by the investigators.

During the proceedings, senior State Prosecutor Wangui Gichuhi told the court that the prosecution had proved beyond a reasonable doubt, through evidence backed up by witness testimonies, that Jowie and Maribe killed the businesswoman on September 19, 2018.

"We are asking the court to find that the two have a case to answer and place them on their defence. The evidence proves they jointly had a common intention to kill Ms Kimani after which they engaged in an elaborate plan to cover up the murder," said Gichuhi.

Gichuhi singled out five issues to convince the court that the two caused Kimani's death, had a common intention to kill and were positively identified by witnesses.

She submitted that Jowie was positively identified by several witnesses as the last person seen at Kimani's house. This was confirmed by DNA analysis of blood samples from his shorts.

Further, she stated that Ms Maribe, who at the time was dating Jowie, was aware of the killing. She gave him a vehicle to use in the murder before trying to conceal the crime by lying to the police and burning clothes to destroy evidence.

According to the prosecution, Maribe conspired with Jowie to create a false narrative that they had been attacked by robbers while entering their house at Royal Park Estate in Lang'ata when Jowie had shot himself to cover up his actions.