Option Jowie Irungu can exercise to try save himself from the death penalty

Joseph ‘Jowie’ Irungu still has a chance to save himself from the death penalty. The prisoner now has fourteen days to file an appeal against the death sentence he was given on Wednesday.

If the prisoner files an appeal and succeeds, his charge may be reduced or dropped depending on the evidence he presents against the sentence.

Judge Grace Nzioka delivered the verdict at the Milimani Court on Wednesday afternoon following a guilty verdict issued on February 9, 2024.

Jowie was found guilty of murdering businesswoman Monica Kimani in September 2018. In delivering the sentence, Judge Grace Nzioka noted that the defendant was not eligible for parole.

“Taking into account all I have said, therefore, I order that the first accused, Joseph Kuria Irungu alias Jowie, is sentenced to hang as prescribed for the offense of murder under section 204 of the Kenyan Penal Code unless the sentence is set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction,” Judge Nzioka said.

The verdict was delivered after the court found Jowie guilty of Monica Kimani’s murder.

The court found that the 28-year-old businesswoman did not die of natural causes but was killed as confirmed by the prosecution. 

The verdict was originally scheduled to be delivered on March 8, 2024, but was postponed until Wednesday, March 13, after Jowie’s lawyers submitted important documents late.

Former television presenter Jacque Maribe, who was previously charged alongside Jowie, had her murder charges dropped.

Nzioka said murder was not the correct charge the prosecution would have preferred against her.

She said the prosecution did not place Maribe at the scene of the crime.