Jowie Stages Fight From Prison; Drags in AG Justin Muturi
In a petition dated April 17, 2024, Joseph Kuria Irungu, commonly referred to as Jowie, requested the High Court of Kenya to eliminate laws that prevent him from being granted bail and also challenged his death sentence.
Jowie named Attorney General Muturi as a respondent in his constitutional petition.
Jowie, who received a death sentence on March 13 for the murder of Nairobi businesswoman Monica Kimani, complained that his constitutional rights had been violated.
He claimed that Section 379(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code was unconstitutional, invalid, and void because it prevented individuals sentenced to death from seeking bail while their appeal was being considered.
In his request, he urged the Milimani court to rule the clause as unconstitutional, pointing out that it was biased since individuals imprisoned for other offenses could seek bail.
Jowie, through his legal counsel, also contended that denying bail violated the right to human dignity for a person facing the death penalty, which opposed the principles of the Kenyan Constitution.
Jowie also seeks to have Section 379(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code deemed unconstitutional because it restricts his ability to access justice and receive a fair trial, both of which are assured by the Kenyan Constitution.
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“A declaration that the death penalty in its nature, and in the manner, process, and mode in which it is or can be implemented is torture, cruel, inhumane and/or a degrading form of punishment prohibited under Article 25 of the Constitution,” he further petitioned the High Court.
The former private security provider also requested the High Court to rule that implementing the death penalty violates the right to life as guaranteed by Article 26(1) of the Constitution.
“A declaration that the Petitioner’s sentencing to death on 13th March 2024 was in contravention of the Petitioner’s non-derogable right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment contrary to Article 25 of the Constitution,” the petition read further.
Jowie is requesting financial restitution, claiming that his rights were violated when he was denied bail and sentenced to death, thus depriving him of the right to life.
In his petition, he requests that the Kenyan government, via the Attorney General’s Office, cover the expenses of the petition.
Jowie faced accusations alongside journalist Jacque Maribe, who was later acquitted.
Jowie Stages Fight From Prison; Drags in AG Justin Muturi