Published on March 13, 2024 by Kenneth Wepukhulu
Last Updated on 2 years by Kenneth Wepukhulu
Joseph Irungu alias Jowie has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani.
Jowie was found guilty of the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani on February 9, 2024.
In a ruling on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, Lady Justice Grace Nzioka revealed that the prosecution had called for a death sentence against Jowie.
“I have ordered that the first accused person, Joseph Kuria Irungu alias Jowie, shall suffer death as provided for the offence of murder under section 204 of the Penal Code of Kenya,” the judge ruled.
“After the commission of the offence, there was an attempt to conceal the evidence. The crime had serious psychological and physical harm to the victim and the family. The prosecution invited this court to pronounce a death sentence,” Lady Justice Nzioka said.
Justice Nzioka said she had considered three sentences including a term of years, life imprisonment or death.
The judge also noted that the convict did not ask for a non-custodial sentence in his submissions before the sentencing.
“The accused states he is aware that nothing he says will relieve the pain of the deceased family. He says he expresses his sadness in the tragic loss of life in extreme circumstances bordering an act of absolute madness that is beyond understanding. The accused says it is his prayer that the deceased family will find peace and that her (Monica Kimani) soul will rest in eternal peace. He says although the victim’s family are calling for a death sentence, the court should consider his views,” Justice Nzioka said.
In delivering the death sentence, the judge cited the consequence of the offence to the family of the deceased stating: “In this case, it is undisputed that the deceased was the Managing Director of the family business in South Sudan.”
“It is undisputed that the business collapsed after her demise and that it was the source of income for the family and we can all appreciate the natural and probable consequence of that,” noted the judge.
She further noted that the mother of the deceased suffered depression and a stroke and that she has hardly healed following the death of her daughter.
Jowie was last month found guilty of the murder of Monica Kimani, who was brutally killed in her Lamuria Gardens apartment in Nairobi on the night of September 19, 2018. Justice Nzioka ruled that the prosecution had adduced adequate evidence and proved beyond reasonable doubt that Jowie indeed killed Monica.
The judge noted that the unlawful killing of Monica Kimani was not only a loss to the family but also to society.
“It is not just a loss to the immediate family. Of course, it is, in the highest degree, a loss to the society when one is killed unlawfully,” she said.
In conclusion, Justice Nzioka cited three quotes on murder to underscore her message:
“In an act of murder, one person’s life ends but a countless number of lives are forever impacted.”
“Murder leaves behind a trail of shattered dreams and broken hearts that can never be healed.”
“The act of murder is a heinous crime that challenges the moral fabric of society and demands justice.”
