This archive report was first published on 4 December 2019.
On December 4, 2019, the High Court acquitted Ms Amina Shiraz, a Nairobi-based businesswoman accused of killing her husband, Jimmy Baburum.
The acquittal came after the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, with Justice Dora Chepkwony ruling that none of the 18 prosecution witnesses linked Ms Shiraz to the death of her husband.
Ms Shiraz was accused of colluding with Jacob Schmalzle, an American, in the murder of her husband, who was found dead in a swimming pool at the luxurious Medina Palms Resort in Watamu on July 26, 2015.
Ms Shiraz's lawyers, Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi and Jared Magolo, argued that her father-in-law, Jagathram Baburum, was motivated by human greed and was desperate to have her thrown in prison to benefit from the deceased estate.
However, the prosecution maintained that it had made out a prima facie case against Ms Shiraz, with Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Vincent Monda saying that the evidence given by prosecution witnesses was cogent, credible, and reliable.
