Former assistant minister Patrick Kariuki Muiruri told the court that the late Tob Cohen had warned him that his wife, Sarah Wairimu Kamotho, would be responsible if anything happened to him.
Mr Muiruri, the State’s star witness and a friend of Mr Cohen’s for 30 years, testified that Mr Cohen had called him hours before he was last seen alive to express fears for his life.
Testifying before High Court Judge Diana Kavedza at the Kibera Law Courts on October 12, 2026, Mr Muiruri said Cohen called him on July 19, 2019 and told him he was going home but was afraid for his safety.
During the 15-to-20-minute telephone conversation, Cohen allegedly told him: “PK, PK, if anything bad happens to me and I am found dead somewhere, tell them it is Sarah.”
Former KPCU director and Gatundu North MP Mr Patrick Kariuki Muiruri.
Photo credit: File | Nation
Asked by prosecutor Vincent Monda whether he recognised the voice, Mr Muiruri replied: “Yes, I recognised it. It was Cohen, my friend, whom I had talked to for many, many years.”
The former Gatundu North MP, who served between 1987 and 1997, told the court that Cohen had expressed fears for his life following alleged violence and a series of troubling incidents involving his wife.
In response, Mr Muiruri said he had urged his friend to hope that nothing would happen to him.
The court heard that during the same telephone conversation, Cohen told Mr Muiruri that earlier that day, men he described as strange and frightening had visited his palatial residence on Farasi Lane, Kitusuru, claiming to be police officers from Spring Valley Police Station.
According to Mr Muiruri, Cohen was concerned that the men had spoken to Sarah and left without arresting her despite his having reported her to the police for allegedly assaulting him and causing injuries to his face.
“Instead of arresting Sarah and charging her with assault causing grievous bodily harm, the police talked to her and left,” Mr Muiruri recalled.
He added that officers from Parklands Police Station had also visited the couple’s home to arrest Sarah, but she locked herself inside the house.
The 21st prosecution witness said Cohen had explained that the visits by the men claiming to be police officers had heightened his fears for his safety.
Cohen had also told him that he feared for his life because of what he described as repeated beatings and violence at the hands of his wife.
The court also heard that on July 15, 2019, four days before the telephone conversation, Mr Muiruri had played golf with Cohen and two retired senior military officers Colonel (Rtd) Githiri and Colonel (Rtd) Kigotho, at Vet Lab.
Sarah Cohen follows proceedings during the hearing of the murder case against her in which she was charged with killing of the late Dutch businessman Tob Cohen before Justice Diana Kavedza at Kibera law courts in Nairobi on September 30, 2026.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation
Mr Muiruri said Cohen told him he intended to divorce Sarah while the two retired military officers were within hearing distance.
“PK, I will divorce my wife Sarah,” Cohen allegedly told him.
When Mr Muiruri asked why he wanted to end the marriage, Cohen reportedly said the couple had not been intimate for four years and that Sarah had allegedly stolen the title deed to his property on Farasi Lane, Kitusuru.
Cohen also accused his wife of allegedly stealing money from his company Kenya Golf Safaris Travel Limited, which he claimed she was using to construct a hotel in Othaya.
The court heard that Cohen showed his friends a photograph of the hotel and a video of his face covered in blood.
When asked what had happened, Cohen allegedly said Sarah had injured him and accused the police of failing to arrest and charge her.
Mr Muiruri also recounted an incident at Cohen’s home during a cultural ceremony preceding the wedding of his adopted daughter who was marrying an Italian man.
He said Cohen had invited him to the event, which he attended alongside former assistant minister Ngengi Muigai who had introduced him to Cohen more than 30 years earlier.
According to Mr Muiruri, the master of ceremonies identified as Mr Karanja did not recognise Cohen.
The three men, Cohen, Mr Muigai and Mr Muiruri, sat at the same table as the ceremony proceeded, with Mr Karanja directing proceedings.
Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen and his wife Sarah Wairimu Kamotho in an undated photo.
Photo credit: Courtesy
Mr Muiruri told the court that Cohen eventually became frustrated with the way the master of ceremonies was conducting the event. Cohen then walked up to Mr Karanja, took the microphone and welcomed the guests to his home.
However, the witness said the situation took an unexpected turn when Sarah approached her husband as he addressed the guests.
“She walked to where her late husband was addressing the invited guests and stated: ‘This is not your home’,” Mr Muiruri recalled.
Following the altercation, Mr Muiruri and Mr Muigai left the event, dismayed by what had transpired.
Mr Muiruri told the court that on August 25, 2019, Mr Muigai called him to report that Cohen was missing. Mr Muigai also forwarded a newspaper clipping bearing the headline that Cohen had disappeared.
Mr Muiruri said that he was deeply disturbed by the news because he believed that Cohen had been killed, not merely gone missing.
“After the call, I called a CID man and drove to DCI headquarters where I met a top Nation Media Group journalist John Kamau,” he told the court.
Mr Muiruri said he went to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters to report what he suspected was a murder.
At the DCI headquarters, he met a Dutch police officer who was involved in the inquiry. Cohen’s sister had also travelled to Kenya to establish what had happened to him.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss George Kinoti consoles Tob Cohen's sister Grabrielle Van Straten after the late Dutch businessman's body was found at the Cohen home in Kitisuru, Nairobi Friday.
The court heard that the disappearance had attracted international attention because Cohen was a Dutch national, prompting investigators from abroad to travel to Kenya. Mr Muiruri also told the court that the then DCI director, George Kinoti, had initially not been aware of the missing-person report.
In September 2019, Mr Kamau called Mr Muiruri while they were at Tribe Hotel and informed him that Cohen was dead.
He told the court that they later drove to the scene where Cohen’s body had been found in a septic tank.
Mr Muiruri, now 80, said he had testified to help secure justice for his late friend.
The hearing will continue on November 9, 2026.
