Former Kenyan journalist to be sentenced in Australia

A court in Australia will pronounce its judgment on Thursday against former Kenyan television journalist Esther Arunga.

The former Kenya Television Network anchor reportedly admitted to having misled the police about the death of her three-year-old son, Sinclair in Australia.

Arunga is claimed to have covered up circumstances under which her son suffered fatal injuries at a family home where she lived with her husband, Quincy Timberlake, in Brisbane Australia, in June 2014.

The Australian Associated Press said Arunga pleaded guilty to being an accessory to the murder on Monday the day her husband was charged with the murder of the three-year-old boy.

According to the news agency, a crown prosecutor told the court Arunga called emergency services just before 2 am on June 18, 2014, the day the boy died.

The prosecutor submitted to the court that Arunga told the paramedics her son had fallen down the stairs, but has since recanted her statement and admitted that it is indeed Timberlake who punched the boy’s stomach several times.

An autopsy, however, revealed that Sinclair died “as a result of a severe blunt force such as punching or stamping or similar,” the AAP reported on Monday.

His injuries, the agency reported, were inconsistent with a fall.

Prosecutor Danny Boyle told the court Arunga diverted attention from her husband for almost a month and that she only changed her story after Mr. Timberlake was involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric facility.

“She told police she went into the bathroom on the night of June 17 to find Quincy hitting Sinclair in the stomach,” AAP reported.

“He then threw him against the wall,” Arunga is quoted as having told investigators.

According to Arunga, Timberlake kept saying “there’s a devil in his (Sinclair’s) stomach, I have to get it out”.

The former news presenter told the court she was afraid to speak because she was afraid of Timberlake who had a strong arm which even an adult couldn’t withstand a punch from.

“I was terrified of being alone and I felt terrible because my husband was sick as well,” she told police.

Nairobi lawyer Steve Ogola said on his twitter handle ”Kenya and Australia should negotiate an agreement to transfer her to Nairobi.”

(CGTN)