Joseph Kuria Irungu alias Jowie has sued the State alleging mistreatment while in custody.
In an affidavit seen by Citizen Digital, lawyer Wilson Nandwa claims that his client’s life is in danger and has urged the court to protect him.
“The applicant is being subjected to inhumane treatment in a cell infested with snakes and a dirty blanket full of bedbugs and lice,” the document reads.
Jowie further alleges that an officer identified as Mr. Lekulal and others at Kamiti Maximum Prison physically assaulted him for no apparent reason.
The accused who is facing trial for the murder of Monica Kimani also claims that Mr. Lekulal warned that he would ‘throw him into a hole that he would never come out of’.
According to Jowie, it was after this threat that he was transferred from Kamiti Maximum Prison to Manyani in Voi.
The accused has also insinuated that he is currently on a hunger strike in protest over the alleged mistreatment.
He wants his application certified as urgent and is seeking to be escorted to Kiambu Police Station to report the incident.
Jowie’s lawyer also wants the prison officers restrained from mistreating his client who he further claims needs medical examination preferably at Kiambu Hospital.
Jowie, the key suspect in the murder of Monica Kimani, is to spend the second Christmas in remand pending a ruling on his bail application next year.
Meanwhile, the hearing of the murder case against Jowie and his co-accused journalist Jacque Maribe will resume in March 2020.
