NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 9 – Former Television presenter Jacque Maribe has blamed the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for instigating murder charges against her when all evidence proved her innocence.
Maribe’s lead lawyer Katwa Kigen insisted there was no evidence that showed she had motive to kill Monica Kimani.
“She was not at the scene. She didn’t know how she had no reason to wonder I did. And in a way we really blamed the prosecution for maintaining an insistence on this case, when it had no basis,” he said.
Minutes after Justice Grace Nzioka delivered the ruling acquitting Maribe of the murder charge, Kigen stated that since the murder trial began in 2018 his client has maintained her innocence.
“We want to say that throughout the period, her conscience has been clear, and the evidence has never at any time suggested that she was implicated,” Kigen stated.
Justice Grace Nzioka found and held that the prosecution did not adduce sufficient evidence to incriminate Maribe in the murder which occurred in September 19, 2018.
“It is my considered view that the charge brought against the second accused person (Jacque Maribe) was not the proper charge,” she stated.
She was subsequently set free.
The High Court has however declared the account of Maribe concerning the shooting of incident in her house on the day Monica Kimani was murdered as false saying all indication points to lies.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Grace Nzioka elaborated that the findings of the court established the witness statement made by Maribe was false based on corroboration by Joseph Kimani alias Jowie.
Justice Nzioka asked the Director of Public Prosecution to prefer charges against her as its contrary to the Penal Code.
“It is the finding of this code where the report made to the police by the first accused person and the second accused person on 28th of September was false,” she said.
“The first accused person expressly admitted he lied in his evidence in this court before this court,” stated Nzioka.
Justice Nzioka pointed out the statement from Royal Park Estate where Maribe and his ex-lover Jowie resided showed there was no shooting incident within Maribe’s house as she alluded in her evidence.
“Eunice Muhammad who was the caretaker at Royal Park said no saying if there was an incident at the main gate, he would have known as a caretaker,”
“The neighbor Kassaine said if there was such incident in the estate it would have been posted in the Estate Association Whatsapp group, it wasn’t,” Nzioka stated.
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.
