- Kasaine was a friend and neighbour to Irungu and his ex-fiancée Jackie Maribe, who is the co-accused.
- He said he first gave Irungu his firearm in July 2018 where he requested it.
Joseph Irungu alias Jowie, who is charged with the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani, called a witness on the night she died asking for paraffin to "burn some stuff".
Brian Kasaine told Justice Grace Nzioka that on the night of September 19 and 20, 2018, he was asleep with his wife when Irungu called him through WhatsApp asking for paraffin or anything flammable or an air freshener.
“On September 20, 2018 while asleep at around 2am, I was awakened by Irungu’s WhatsApp call asking for paraffin. I got surprised at such a request for the items by him at such a late hour. I replied and told him I did not have any item requested by him,” Kasaine told court.
He added that Irungu sounded odd and hyper.
Prosecution counsel Catherine Mwaniki asked whether Irungu specified what kind of stuff he wanted to burn but he said he did not mention it.
Kasaine was a friend and neighbour to Irungu and his ex-fiancée Jackie Maribe, who is the co-accused, at Royal Park estate in Langata.
They had become close from February 2018.
The witness said he knew Irungu through Instagram. He had moved to Langata to stay with Maribe whom he first knew as a TV anchor.
He testified that he knew Irungu as he told him that he once worked in Dubai in a private military.
He later informed him that while in Kenya, he used to provide security to politicians including former MP Joyce Lay.
Kasaine said he first gave Irungu his firearm in July 2018 when he requested it, saying he was also a firearm holder and wanted to sharpen his skills as his gun had defects at the time.
"I gave him without ammunition and after two days he returned it."
On September 9, 2018, he again requested for the gun for the same reasons without ammunition.
He had promised to return it after two days. However, he did not return it as agreed.
The same day in the afternoon at around 3pm, the witness said he met Irungu outside his house where he lived with Maribe. He went there to borrow a car to pick his son from school.
“Irungu was wearing a white vest and grey sweat pants. He was in deep thought and distracted. I noticed he was not his usual self as he looked very disturbed in mind,” Kasaine testified.
He said that jokingly, he asked Irungu the purpose of paraffin and he replied that, “I was with Mo yesterday for an assignment and he stabbed somebody.”
Kasaine said he was taken aback at the words.
Irungu further said he wanted to burn some things and used an air freshener, while pointing towards an empty plot across their house. Kasaine did not comment. He was given the car keys and left.
He returned the keys at around 4.15pm and gave them to their house help, Pamela, and went home.
The court heard that the next day on September 21, 2018 at 1am, he heard his gate shaking and upon peeping through the window, he could not see anyone. Because it was persistent, he decided to go downstairs and check.
“I walked to the gate and heard a scream, like someone in agony. I found Irungu lying in front of my gate bleeding. I asked him what had happened and saw his upper left chest area bleeding heavily".
He said Maribe was standing there shaking with a phone in her hands. She told Kasaine, Irungu had shot himself.
Irungu started shouting at his fiancée Maribe saying, “You want me out of your house, it's fine, bury me in Langata". Maribe did not answer him, he added.
The witness further said Irungu asked him to go and secure the weapon. He rushed to his house and saw a trail of blood leading to the master bedroom. There were scattered bullets on the floor and a firearm.
With the help of Maribe, the witness took Irungu to Langata hospital but they were referred to Nairobi West Hospital.
"He could not be admitted since we did not have Sh50,000 deposit. He was attended to and we left," Kasaine said.
Edited by Henry Makori