This archive report was first published on 15 October 2019.
Published on October 15, 2019, a court in Kenya heard that Amina Shiraz Yacoub, the widow of Mombasa tycoon Jimmy Jagatram Baburam, planned and executed the murder of her husband.
According to the prosecution, Yacoub conspired with her American lover Jacob Schmalze to kill Jagatram, who was found drowned in a swimming pool at Medina Palms in Watamu on June 26, 2015.
The prosecution alleged that Yacoub planned the murder to inherit Jagatram's estate, worth Sh500 million, and a life insurance cover worth Sh50 million.
Prosecutor Alexander Monda claimed that Yacoub tried to influence the detective investigating her husband's death, Abdi Sheikh, with a Sh45,000 bribe.
However, Yacoub's defence team, led by lawyers Jared Magolo and Ahmednassir Abdullahi, countered the prosecution's assertions, saying witnesses to Jagatram's murder were coached by his father, David Baburam.
The defence claimed that Jagatram had a history of alcoholism and had an epileptic seizure before his death, which led to him falling into the pool and drowning.
Prosecutor Monda said, "All evidence shows the two - Yacoub and Schmalze - conceived an elaborate scheme to eliminate Baburam (Jagatram) and get access to his vast wealth."
Justice Dorah Chepkwony released Yacoub on a Sh10 million bond with two sureties, and the verdict is expected to be rendered in December.
