A forensic expert has told the High Court in Mombasa that the murder of a Nairobi-based tycoon Jimmy Jagatram Baburam, took place while he was partying with friends in a villa at Watamu.
Jimmy who was the son to Brigadier (rtd) David Baburam was found dead next to a pool in a resort in Watamu on July 26, 2015, by his wife Amina Shiraz.
It is alleged that he died as a result of drowning in a children’s pool, which according to crime scene expert, Ade, was 1.2 metres deep.
The court heard that Jimmy’ postmortem indicated he died from drowning. Further, he said Jimmy had a head injury.
“Jimmy had been partying with friends at around 4.30am on July 26, 2015, among them his wife and Jacob Schmalze, Shiraz’s alleged American lover. The postmortem result indicated that he had drowned.
“The pool was however shallow occasioning his head injury,” said Ade. The expert said that he wanted to extract and print cellphone notes and text messages exchanged between Jimmy and friends on July 2012 to November 2015.
However, Shiraz’s lawyer Jared Magolo opposed the production of the forensic report by Ade since he was not the author of the report.
Dr Dan Gikonyo who tendered the medical report of Jimmy told the court that Jimmy had a history of kidney problem, but had healed completely.
The founder of the Karen Hospital and the Heart to Heart Foundation said that he had no idea that Jimmy had died as a result of intoxication from drugs and alcohol abuse.
Jimmy’s family have accused Shiraz of conspiring with Schmalze to drown their son with intentions to control Jimmy’s vast estate.
Two legal application disputes have been filed at the Milimani Law Courts by Jimmy’s father David, seeking administration of his son’s Sh50 million life insurance policy benefit left behind, businesses in Dubai, Nairobi and his vast estate worth over Sh500 million.
Dr Gikonyo who was testifying before Lady Justice Julius Chepkwony denied claims that Jimmy died due to convulsions as a result of alcohol and drug abuse.
“I am not here to say that Jimmy never took drugs. He said he took drugs, but we have no data on that...” said Dr Gikonyo.
In his testimony, he said doctors in South Africa had recommended he stop taking alcohol, smoking and advised him to improve his lifestyle by taking a balanced diet.
In a cross-examination by Shiraz’ lawyer Magolo, Dr Gikonyo denied ever doctoring the medical report of Jimmy to omit the issue of drug and alcohol abuse.
Magolo insisted that Jimmy had been abusing alcohol and had traces of cocaine in his system by the time he was being discharged from the hospital.
According to reports, Jimmy flew from Nairobi to Watamu in July 2015 for a vacation with his wife Shiraz and their three children.
The family booked into a five-star resort in Watamu where they were joined a day later by two nannies. Jimmy who studied aeronautics and business engineering in the United Kingdom was cremated three days later.
Shiraz, the court heard, wanted him buried in accordance with Islamic traditions. Jimmy’s sudden death caused friction between his family and that of his wife, Shiraz.
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