Joseph Irungu, alias Jowie, who was convicted of the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani and sentenced to death, has filed a constitutional review application, arguing that he was denied several constitutional rights. Jowie Irungu wants the court to declare the law denying him bail unconstitutional. Jowie’s water-tight constitutional review petition In Constitutional Petition No. E0202 0f 2024, pitting Jowie against the attorney general, the convict decries denial of the right to bail, terming the move unconstitutional. Jowie, who was sentenced to death on Wednesday, March 13, through his lawyer Andrew Muge, wants the High Court of Kenya’s Constitutional and Human Rights Division to nullify some of the criminal procedure codes enforcing his stay in custody. TUKO.co.ke understands that Jowie filed a notice of appeal indicating his intention to appeal against Justice Grace Nzioka’s judgment. However, Section 379(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) bars him from getting bail terms that would allow him to stay out of prison while he awaited the verdict of his appeal. “The petitioner, therefore, prays that this honourable court grants the following orders: A declaration that Section 379(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code is unconstitutional, null and void to the extent that it denies persons sentenced to death the right to bail pending appeal,” reads part of Jowie’s petition. Section 379(4) of the CPC states that”Save in a case where the appellant has been sentenced to death, a judge of the High Court, or of the Court of Appeal, may, where an appeal to the Court of Appeal has been lodged under this section, grant bail pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.” What Jowie’s petition means to death sentence convicts He argues that Section 379(4) of the CPC is discriminatory and infringes on the right to human dignity of a person sentenced to death, thus being contrary to Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution. Article 27 of the Constitution of Kenya states: “(1) Every person is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law. (2) Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and fundamental freedoms.” Jowie also wants Section 379 (4) of the CPC declared unconstitutional because it denied persons sentenced to death access to justice and a fair hearing, thus contrary to Articles 48 and 50 of the Constitution. Access to justice laws in Kenya Article 48 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 states that: “The State shall ensure access to justice for all persons and, if any fee is required, it shall be reasonable and shall not impede access to justice.” He is also seeking a declaration that the death penalty, in its nature and in the manner, process, and mode in which it is or can be implemented, is torture, cruel, inhumane, and/or a degrading form of punishment prohibited under Article 25 of the Constitution. He argues that the imposition of the death penalty is a violation of the right to life protected under Article 26(1) of the Constitution of Kenya. In a wider scope, Jowie requested the court declare all other laws that prescribe a death penalty in Kenya as inconsistent with Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution. Jowie wants the court to award him compensation under Article 23(3)(e) for infringement of his rights under Articles 27, 28, 29, 48, and 50 of the Constitution of Kenya. During his conviction, the court acquitted his co-accused and former lover, Jacque Maribe.