Sarah Wairimu Cohen, widow of Dutch billionaire Tob Cohen, evaded arrest and prosecution for seven months over allegations that she had assaulted her husband by travelling abroad, ignoring police summonses and locking herself inside her house, a senior police officer told the Kibera High Court on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
Inspector Moses Mbwalwe told the court that Sarah failed to respond to police summonses to record a statement over the alleged assault, which Cohen reported in February 2019. She also travelled abroad and locked herself inside her house when officers attempted to arrest her.
In a bid to arrest and charge her, Mr Mbwalwe said he obtained a warrant of arrest from the Kibera Law Courts, but it was never executed before Cohen was killed.
He said Cohen reported the alleged assault by his wife at Muthangari Police Station in February 2019, but by September that year, Sarah had neither been arrested nor prosecuted.
The officer told the court that police had difficulty arresting her because they did not know her personally and relied on Cohen to identify her.
Inspector Mbwalwe said officers visited her residence to arrest her, but she locked herself inside the house.
He added that Cohen had asked the police to wait for Sarah to return from abroad, promising to inform them when she was back.
Inspector Moses Mbalwe testifies during the hearing of the murder case of the late Dutch businessman Tob Cohen at Kibera law courts in Nairobi on October 1, 2026.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation
On July 19, 2019, he said the officer commanding Muthangari Police Station received a letter purportedly written by Cohen seeking to withdraw the assault complaint against his wife.
“When the letter from Cohen was received by the OCS seeking to withdraw the assault complaint, he informed me to get in touch with him, but his call was never answered,” MrMbwalwe said.
The officer was testifying in the murder trial in which Sarah is charged with killing her husband on the night of July 19 and 20, 2019.
He said he subsequently went to the Kibera Law Courts and obtained a warrant of arrest to enable police to apprehend and prosecute her for assaulting Cohen.
“My Lord, we later received news that the body of Tob Cohen was found in a septic tank at his residence,” Insp Mbwalwe told the court.
Insp Mbwalwe denied defence lawyer Pravin Bowry’s claim that police had done nothing about the assault complaint, insisting that officers had made several unsuccessful attempts to arrest Sarah.
The court also heard testimony from a musician who performed at Plums Hotel on the night Cohen was last seen alive.
Haston Kombe, the 18th prosecution witness, told the court that Cohen became excited when the band began playing Hit the Road Jack and asked to sing the Ray Charles classic himself.
“He was excited when the band began to perform the song and requested to perform it,” Mr Kombe said.
He said Cohen sang for about five minutes as the crowd cheered before the band moved on to another song.
Mr Kombe described the hotel’s clientele as high-end, comprising regular customers of Indian, British and American origin.
However, he said he could not recall exactly what happened later that night or specifically remember the people who accompanied Cohen.
Asked about Cohen’s clothing, Mr Kombe recalled that he wore a light-blue jacket and trousers but could not remember the colour of his shirt or whether he had a tie.
A former Government Chemist, John Kimani, also presented about 40 exhibits recovered from Cohen’s residence after his body was retrieved from the septic tank.
Mr Kimani explained to the court how he had forensically examined the exhibits and prepared a detailed report on his findings.
At the same time,two former hotel workers have recounted how Dutch billionaire Tob Cohen danced and sang popular country music at a Westlands hotel on the night of July 19, 2019, days before he was reported missing.
Michael Wainaina Karuthai and Aggrey Makhala, former employees of Plums Hotel in Westlands, told the Kibera High Court that Cohen arrived at the hotel at around 12.30am on July 19, 2019.
Evidence produced during the hearing of the murder case of the late Dutch businessman Tob Cohen before Justice Diana Kavedza at Kibera Law Courts in Nairobi on October 1, 2026.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation
Mr Karuthai, a former waiter, said the businessman appeared unusually jovial and happy when he checked into the hotel.
He said Cohen went to the bar and ordered whisky, later took to the dance floor and picked up a microphone and sang country music by Kenny Rogers.
“Cohen was jovial and very happy. I had never seen him that happy,” he added.
Mr Karuthai was testifying in the murder case in which Cohen’s widow Sarah Wairimu is charged with killing him on the night of July 19 and 20, 2019.
The former waiter said Cohen was later joined at the bar by a woman identified as Margerate Wanjiru, who was also served drinks.
He said Wanjiru later left Cohen at the bar and went to the dance floor where she was joined by two other women.
Mr Karuthai told the court that Wanjiru later returned to the bar and quarrelled with the two women.
Cohen then left the three women and returned to the dance floor where he requested a microphone and sang country music until after 2am.
“He happily sang country music up to past 2am, then announced that he was leaving and should not be followed by anybody,” Mr Karuthai said.
However, as Cohen walked towards his car, Wanjiru followed him, leading to an altercation.
Mr Karuthai said a hotel bouncer identified as Hilary intervened but Wanjiru scratched him and tore his shirt.
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 Karuthai said he learnt days later that Cohen had been reported missing after seeing a television broadcast about the case. He later saw another report that Cohen’s body had been recovered from a septic tank at his home.
Mr Makhala, a former barman at Plums Hotel, told the court that he was the one who served Cohen whisky on the night in question.
He corroborated Mr Karuthai’s account that Cohen appeared jovial and happy during his time at the hotel.
The court also heard from Dennis Kegona who is a former chief security officer at Muthaiga Golf Club where Cohen was a member and director.
Mr Kegona said Cohen arrived at the club at around 6pm and was served drinks before leaving at 10.08pm.
The court has so far heard evidence from 16 witnesses, including former employee Mathew Muiruri Kinyanjui, who described himself as Cohen’s confidant.
Mr Kinyanjui told the court on June 22, 2026, that Ms Wairimu had instructed three employees to tell police and anyone who asked about Cohen that he had travelled to Thailand for medical treatment.
Ms Wairimu is charged with murdering Cohen on July 19/20, 2019, in the Lower Kabete area of Nairobi County.
Cohen, a Dutch national who had lived in Kenya for about 30 years, was a wealthy businessman who held various positions, including chief executive officer of Philips Group of Companies (East Africa).
His body was eventually found in an underground septic tank at his home along Farasi Lane, Mugomoini Close, Lower Kabete, following an extensive search by his family and Kenyan police.
The trial resumes on October 2, 2026.
