Murder Suspect ‘Jowie’ Irungu Sues the State, Claims He is Locked in Snake-Infested Cell

Murder suspect, Joseph Kuria Irungu alias Jowie has sued the State over alleged mistreatment while behind bars.

In an affidavit, Irungu’s lawyer Wilson Nandwa claims that his client’s life is in danger and wants the court to protect him, Citizen Digital reported. “The applicant is being subjected to inhumane treatment in a cell infested with snakes and a dirty blanket full of bedbugs and lice,” the affidavit reads.

Irungu further accuses a prison warder named Mr. Lekulal and others at Kamiti Maximum Prison of physically assaulting him for no reason. He alleges that Lekulal warned that he would “throw him into a hole that he would never come out of” and it was after this threat that he was transferred from Kamiti Maximum Prison to Manyani Prison in Voi.

He indicates that he is currently on a hunger strike in protest over the alleged mistreatment and wants his application certified as urgent even as he seeks to be escorted to Kiambu Police Station to report the incident. Lawyer Nandwa asks the court to restrain prison officers from mistreating his client who he further claims is in need of a medical examination, preferably at Kiambu Hospital.

Jowie, who is the prime suspect in the murder of business lady Monica Kimani, has been in custody for more than a year after the court denied him bail. He was charged with Monica’s murder alongside his former girlfriend, journalist Jacque Maribe.