Monica Kimani murder: Maribe’s house help testifies against Jowie
Former Citizen TV journalist Jacque Maribe’s house help on Thursday narrated her version of what happened the night Joseph Irungu alias Jowie shot himself.
Pamela Kembo, who had worked for Maribe for two years, told the court that on September 21, 2018 at around 1 am she was woken up by screams of Jowie shouting for help.
“He was calling Brian Kasaine who was our neighbor to help him. Brian Kasaine and his wife come in asking for Jowie’s identity card. Brian was saying they can’t take him to the hospital without an ID,” she told the court.
According to the house help, she found Jowie’s clothes and possession scattered downstairs.
Jacque then came from upstairs and followed Kasaine and the wife outside.
She said she picked Jowie’s clothes and took them to an empty room upstairs because she did not want when Maribe’s kid woke to ask why his daddy’s clothes were scattered downstairs.
“Jowie was inside Maribe’s car in the backseat. There was blood oozing from his body. He was wearing a vest. They then left the four of them to take Jowie to the hospital,” she told the court.
According to Kembo, she never heard any gunshots or any scuffle that night she only woke up after she heard Jowie shouting for help.
Kembo told the court that after the four left, she went upstairs to check on the kid and saw Maribe’s bedroom light on.
“I decided to go switch it off. When I opened the door, I saw a gun and a lot of blood near their bathroom,” she told the court.
Kembo told the court, she then went downstairs and called Terryanne Chebet who she worked for before Jacque and told her what had happened.
Jacque told her to sleep but she did not because she was shaken.
The house help told Justice James Wakiaga that Jowie and Jacque and Kasaine came back at around 4 am.
Jowie’s hand had been bandaged. Kasaine helped take Jowie upstairs and left.
According to Kembo, in the morning of September 21, Maribe’s mother came and at some point, Jowie came downstairs to greet her.
“Jacque left for work at 3 pm. Her mom also left thereafter with the child. Brian came later in the evening and asked for the car keys saying he was taking Jowie back to the hospital…he went upstairs and picked Jowie and they didn’t come back. And Jacque also didn’t come back until the next morning Saturday,” she told the court.
She then asked for an off from Jacque who was leaving to see Jowie.
She spent the night at Terryanne Chebet’s house and Sunday evening in order to prepare the child for school on Monday.
According to Kembo, Brian and his wife were Jowie’s friends and not Maribe’s friends.
She told the court that earlier on before the incidence, she had seen Jowie with a gun and asked Maribe about it.
Maribe told her that Jowie worked as an army officer in Dubai and also at State House.
Kembo told the court that Jowie was brought back on Monday evening by Brian at 6 pm and the police came to the house the next day and left with Jowie.
Jowie later came back at 2pm with the police and told her to take the child to Brian's house.
They then left with Jowie at around 6.30 and Jowie called me to go lock the house.
Maribe's dad called her and told her to take the child to Buru Buru because they could not live in that house in that condition.
"When at buruburu, I had called Terryanne and told her I'm going home but she told me to go to her house in Kilimani instead of going to Kitale. Maribe's mother gave me Sh1,000 for fare," she told the court.
According to the house help, she had good working relation with Jacque and they have never had any squabbles.
She however told the court her relationship with Jowie was edgy as there was a time in August Jowie had accused her of stealing two months’ rent.
“This made me want to quit in August 2018 but Maribe's mother begged her to stay,” she told the court.
According to Kembo, she worked for TerryAnn Chebet for five years but when Chebet was sacked, she took her to work for Jacque.
“Jacque used to live at carnivore in 2016. Jowie started coming in 2017 around March. He used to come once in a while. We went to Royal Park November 2017...Jowie came in January 2018 and stayed like three days,” she told the court.
The court heard that Jowie came to live fully with Maribe with all his belongings in June 2018.
“He came with two suitcases. He said he was coming from Dubai,” she told the court.
Monica Kimani, 28, a businesswoman, was found dead in a bathtub on September 20 with her neck slit ear to ear at her Lamuria Gardens Apartment in Kilimani, Off Dennis Pritt Road on September 20.
Meanwhile the court will rule on February 13 on whether to release Jowie on bail after his lawyers made a fresh bail application yesterday.
The prosecution and the victim’s family opposed the said application.
