According to the statement, Maribe told police that his fiancé tried to commit suicide by shooting himself just below his left shoulder/CFM NEWS
NAIROBI Kenya, Oct 1 – Police are now treating both Jacque Maribe and her fiancé Joseph Irungu as prime suspects in the murder of Monica Kimani – the woman who was found killed in her apartment in Nairobi’s Kilimani area and her body dumped in a bathtub.
This is after Maribe contradicted her initial statement on Jowie’s gunshot injury with several other incriminating items recovered in her house.
Police found a partly burnt kanzu and Jacket worn by Jowie on the night Monica was murdered was found behind Maribe’s house in Lang’ata. Also found were items taken from Monica’s apartment and a live 9mm bullet that was recovered under Maribe’s bed.
Police believe Jowie shot himself after a quarrel with Maribe.
According to statements recorded by investigating officer Maxwell Otieno, Jowie attempted to commit suicide inside Maribe’s house after the squabble.
It is not, however, clear how the disagreement ensured and over what.
The new revelation emerged after detectives probed several people including neighbours of Maribe. The gun used, according to police, belongs to Maribe’s neighbour Brian Kassaine who also appeared in court on Monday.
“Investigations briefly carried out so far show that one of the suspects whose identity has been concealed, gave out the firearm to Joseph Irungu alias Jowie on several occasions and one such occasion was on 9th September 2018,” reads lead investigator Inspector Maxwell Otieno’s affidavit.
According to the statement, Maribe told police that his fiancé tried to commit suicide by shooting himself just below his left shoulder.
This happened on the night of September 20 at around 1am.
Kassaine told detectives that Jowie rushed to his house where he asked him to “secure the gun “which he had left in Maribe’s house.
The firearm had 28 live bullets of 9mm. He also took one spent cartridge from the floor.
“The cartridge was at the entrance to the walk-in closet adjacent to the master bedroom on the upper floor of the house,” reads the statement.
Maribe and three others later rushed Jowie to hospital.
Jowie was initially taken to Lang’ata hospital, then Nairobi West and eventually Kijabe Mission Hospital in Kiambu County, more than 60 kilometres from the capital city.
Maribe later recorded a statement at Lang’ata Police Station where she alleged that Jowie had been shot by a three-man gang who were on a motorbike near the gate of their residence.
Police are now waiting for a report by ballistic experts on the ammunition that was recovered in Maribe’s house.
Detectives have since established Jowie was at the scene of crime on the night Monica was killed.
He was driving the Toyota Allion car belonging to Maribe.
A Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in Kiambu on Monday told court that Maribe, may face charges of being an accessory to murder.
“It is a serious case,” Principal Magistrate Justus Kituku heard in the application for 14 days to conclude investigations while Maribe is in custody.
Police were however granted 10 days when they will among other things extract DNA samples from the journalist and interview her colleagues and friends.
The body of Monica, who operated her family business in South Sudan, was found in a bathtub, with her throat slit and her hands tied to the back.
Her family has confirmed that she was scheduled to visit Dubai to meet her South Sudanese boyfriend, with whom they were planning a wedding.
Her body was discovered by her brother, who had unsuccessfully tried to phone her and opted to visit her house, only to stumble on her body.
She was buried in their Nakuru home on Friday and her father has pleaded with police to help them get justice.
“We want justice. It is so painful to lose my daughter just like that,” Monica’s father, Reverend Paul Ngarama said during her requiem mass in Thika, where he revealed that she had promised to buy him a Landcruiser V8.
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