Citizen TV journalist Jacque Maribe and her fiance Joseph ‘Jowie’ Irungu are expected to take plea to the charge of murdering Monica Kimani today.
High Court judge Jessie Lesiit last week ordered the two be remanded until today. Lesiit also directed a mental examination for Maribe. The court directed that Jowie, who is nursing a bullet wound on the shoulder, be treated.
The order was given after Maribe’s lawyer Katwa Kigen informed the court his client was unwell and that she needed treatment before answering to the charges.
Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji ordered the two to be charged with the murder of Monica. “I have reviewed the evidence so far on record and I am satisfied that there exists a case to warrant criminal prosecution against them,” Haji said.
On Friday, Kigen said Maribe had been certified fit to stand trial. The lawyer told journalists that the anchor underwent a mental assessment at Mathari Hospital on Thursday. Kigen said he will apply for bail when the TV anchor is charged today.
Maribe has been implicated in the murder by her conduct and association with Jowie, who is the prime suspect.
Monica, 28, was killed in her apartment at Lamuria Gardens in Kilimani on September 19, a day after she arrived from Juba.
Maribe’s charges emanate from what police described as illegal handling of a firearm after a 9mm live bullet was recovered in her bedroom.
The ammunition was linked to a gun which belongs to her neighbour, Brian Kassaine. Police said Jowie used the gun to shoot himself before claiming he was shot at by unknown people.
On October 6, Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti told the Star that evidence showed Maribe was indirectly linked to Monica’s murder.
She was arrested on September 27 after investigators recovered documents, including a wallet and a handbag in her Lang’ata house. The documents are believed to belong to Monica, who was buried in Gilgil on September 28.
