Joseph Irungu alias Jowie Irungu has been handed a death sentence for the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani.

High court judge Justice Grace Nzioka ruled on the matter on Wednesday, March 13.

“The 1st accused person before this court being Joseph Kuria Irungu alias Jowie shall suffer death as provided for the offence of murder under Section 254 of the Penal Code of Kenya,” she read the judgement.

Justice Grace Nzioka pointed out that murder, which Jowie was found guilty of, is the highest form of loss not only to the victim (Monica Kimani’s) family but to society in general.

“In the offence of murder, one person’s life ends, but a countless number of lives are forever impacted,” she added.

Further, that murder leads to shattered dreams for the victim and their families, as well as the offender and their own families.

In Jowie’s submission, he appealed for a more lenient sentence saying he was on the verge of registering his own security firm after years of serving other people.

“The report indicates that at the time he (Jowie Irungu) was arrested, he was providing security to persons in politics and was at an advanced stage of registering his own security firm,” the judge read.

Jowie was declared guilty of Monica Kimani’s murder in her Lamuria Gardens apartment in Nairobi on the night of September 19, 2018. 

In the February 9 verdict, Justice Grace Nzioka said her ruling was based on 13 findings which placed Jowie Irungu at the scene of murder.

These include; a stolen identity card, brown shorts and maroon cap he was wearing that day, a white kanzu, among other witness statements that all corroborated with investigators’ evidence.

Consequently, Justice Nzioka declared Jowie Irungu guilty for the offence of first degree murder and handed him death sentence today (March 13, 2024).

In his submission, Jowie maintained innocence and expressed disappointment in the court for linking him to Monica Kimani’s murder.