Summary
- The prosecutors asked Kiambu Principal Magistrate Justus Kituku to allow police to detain her for another 14 days at Gigiri Police Station in the capital Nairobi.
- But her lawyer Katwa Kigen opposed the request, saying the "time requested for is unreasonable".
- The reasons given by the prosecution, Mr Kigen said, are not compelling.
Citizen TV Journalist Jacque Maribe, a suspect
in the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani in Nairobi, will stay in
police cells longer, a Kiambu magistrate court has ruled.
Kiambu
Principal Magistrate Justus Kituku on Monday allowed police to hold Ms
Maribe for 10 more days at Gigiri Police Station in the capital Nairobi
as they investigate the case.
Detectives brought Ms Maribe to court at 8.30am and locked her up at the cells as she waited for her date with destiny.
She was taken to court a few minutes after
9am, with the state prosecution making an application to extend her
lock-up as they investigate the murder that has also seen the detention
of her fiancé Joseph Kuria Irungu.
The
prosecutors had asked Mr Kituku to allow police to detain the
celebrated new anchor for another 14 days, saying the charges she was
facing were serious.
They cited
ballistic examination of the samples that they took from the suspect's
house and a pending DNA test among other reasons to back up their
request.
If set free, they told the magistrate, Ms Maribe is likely to interfere with the ongoing investigations.
But her lawyer Katwa Kigen, who lost the
battle for the news anchor's temporary freedom, had opposed the request,
saying the time requested for was unreasonable.
The reasons given by the prosecution, Mr Kigen said, were not compelling.
Mr
Kigen also decried the conditions under which Ms Maribe was held over
the weekend, saying she was intimidated and mocked by fellow inmates.
If
the court decides to detain the journalist for more days, he said, the
magistrate should ensure her rights as a suspect are not violated.
In
his ruling, the magistrate granted Mr Kigen's request and directed that
police guarantee Ms Maribe of her safety and security in cell.
He
made a reference to a recent incident where a suspect in the attempted
murder of a former Mandera county government official died while in
police custody.
The court directed that Ms Maribe should not be forced to record any statement in the absence of her lawyer.
The
news anchor, who broke the news of Ms Kimani’s death on TV, was
arrested on Saturday, days after she was interrogated by detectives over
case.
Her fiancé Irungu, the main
suspect in the murder, was last week presented before Kiambu Senior
Resident Magistrate Stella Atambo who allowed police to detain him for
10 more days as they investigate the case.
Ms Kimani’s body was found in a bathtub at her house in Kilimani, Nairobi, with the throat slit and hands tied at the back.
Mr
Irungu, Ms Maribe, and their mutual friend Brian Kassaine, in whose
house detectives found a gun hidden in the ceiling, are the suspects in
police custody so far.
Mr Kassaine is also expected in court on Monday or Tuesday.
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