A gazetted presidential pardon has raised conflicting debate on social media as to whether Joseph Irungu Kuria alias Jowie who was jailed for life in the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani is the same as prisoner number 219 imprisoned in 2015 under the name Joseph Irungu Maina.
To verify the credibility of this news item we perused trusted mainstream media and found that only Kenya’s Standard Media Group and the giant Opera News Hub shared a newsbite of the item but later pulled down their website entries. We also found out that bigfish verified accounts on Twitter including the revered Aoko Otieno (Maverick Aoko) shared the item and promised further details but we’re unable to furnish the same.
While there was a sign of prevarication among local news outlets in further spreading this information the trusted source Global Intelligence Surveillance Technology had bitten and in the afternoon of Tuesday 27 May posted this in their handle:
“G.I.S.T. & Rogern’s 7 Ultimate Affirms Kenya’s President @WilliamSRuto Pardoned Joseph “Jowie” Irungu Serving A Death Sentence For Murdering Monica Kimani With INFOGRID®™ Data Linking Him To Extrajudicial Massacre On Tuesday, June 25, 2024 #FinanceBill2024 Protests ~ US @NSAGov.”
This social media page enjoys privileged sources and is one of the most trusted for foreign reporting.
So, was it a factual news item or mere conspiracy theory attempting to tie in the released prisoner to the notorious killer Joseph Irungu Kuria?
One. Joseph Irungu Maina’s case files indicate that he was imprisoned in 2015, for a similar offence, three years earlier than the murder of Monica Kimani which took place in 2018.
Two. A person answering to the physical attributes of the “imprisoned” Joseph Irungu Kuria was spotted heavily armed in the streets of Nairobi during the 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests.
Three. Joseph Irungu Kuria alias Jowie took pictures posing with military-grade rifles even before he was arrested for Monica Kimani’s murder.
Conclusion. Prisoner number 219 imprisoned in 2015 could share name and offence but was certainly not Jowie. According to his brash demeanor during the hearing of his murder case, Jowie appeared to know that charges would be dropped (indicating he had connections). When he was ultimately jailed he appeared, for the first time shocked and crestfallen, (meaning he could not believe that his connections had let him down).
The catch. According to a Harvard University crime research audit report released 2022 criminal marksmen are often recruited by State to carry out assassinations. The criminals who are purportedly serving life sentences or have been hanged are often given a lease of life by government, put up in safe houses (usually in neighbouring countries) and called upon to do the dirty work.
The verdict is ultimately yours.
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