This archive report was first published on 23 October 2019.
Published on October 23, 2019
Mombasa Woman Linked to American Lover's Murder Faces Verdict ¶
Amina Shiraz Yacoub, the widow of late Mombasa tycoon Jimmy Jagatram Baburam, is set to face a verdict in a murder case linked to her American lover.
High Court judge Dorah Chepkwony has been hearing the case, which involves allegations that Yacoub conspired with her American lover Jacob Schmalze to plan and execute the murder of her own husband.
According to the prosecution, the suspect and her fugitive American lover drowned Jagatram in a swimming pool at Medina Palms in Watamu on June 26, 2015.
Yacoub is accused of planning the murder in order to inherit Jagatram's Estate, estimated at Sh500 million, and a further Sh50 million in life insurance cover.
However, Yacoub's defence team, led by lawyers Ahmednassir Abdullahi and Jared Magolo, has refuted the prosecution's assertions, alleging that witnesses to her husband's murder were coached by the deceased's father, David Baburam, for purposes of inheriting Jagtram's estate.
The defence also alleges that Jagatram had suffered an epileptic seizure and drowned after falling into the pool while intoxicated, with lawyers Ahmednassir and Magolo maintaining that Yacoub's late husband had a history of alcoholism.
