Joseph ‘Jowie’ Irungu, who is charged with the gruesome murder of a woman in Nairobi last year, and who cut the image of a tough-as-nails mercenary when the story first broke, now says prison has given him a glimpse of a life he would never wish on anyone, and that life behind bars has shown him who his real friends are.
OUTRIGHT BULLIES
Facing trial over the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani, who was found dead in a bathtub in her house in Nairobi’s Kilimani area with her hands tied and her throat slit, Jowie says he has been deserted by those he thought were close to him – except his family and a few friends – and that some prison warders are “outright bullies”.
His elderly parents, he told the Sunday Nation in an interview on Friday, have been travelling from their home in Nakuru County to visit him in remand at Kamiti Maximum Prison every week without fail. This is despite the fact that, because he is detained in isolation, his visitors are allowed to chat with him for just 10 minutes, and they have to wait for long to get clearance.
“At least every Tuesday, my parents come to see me. They travel from Nakuru to Kiambu every week,” he told the Sunday Nation in his first interview since he was first implicated in the murder of Ms Kimani. “Since this is a maximum security prison, you can imagine someone who left Nakuru at 6am to come and see you early is given only ten minutes to talk to you. And it’s strictly 10 minutes.”The dedication of his parents seems to have mellowed him the most, and not the gravity of the charges against him and how his life could change dramatically should he be convicted. Keen to persuade the court to deny Jowie his bail application, the prosecution painted the picture of a man who is well-versed in handling advanced weapons, but who, for lack of a source of income since 2017, lived on the benevolence of others.
The prosecution referred the court to viral photos of Jowie posing with large guns for which he did not produce a licence. Describing him as a dangerous man, the prosecution said he posed great danger to witnesses should he be released. The judge agreed.
Witnesses have told the court hearing his case that Jowie often introduced himself as an undercover security operative working with Interpol. On Friday, he told this writer that he is one of only nine prisoners kept under isolation at Kamiti. That means he never gets to speak to any other prisoner throughout his stay or interact with fellow inmates in any way while inside the precincts of Kenya’s largest detention facility. Even wardens from other areas of the prison, he said, are not allowed to get close to his cell.
RUTHLESS MOSQUITOS
Solitary confinement means he cannot be transported to hospital like most other prisoners. A medic is brought to him instead. Being in solitary confinement also means the time he is out of his cell for the day – from 6am to 5.30pm – can only be spent sunbathing and reading books between the three meals, the last that comes at 4.30pm.
And if he wants a book to read, he has to make an application in writing, give it to the officers guarding him who will in turn give it to the officers in charge of the library. If the application is approved, he gets the book.
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