Nearly seven years after Dutch businessman Tob Cohen disappeared from his Nairobi home, prosecutors are laying out what they say is the evidence underpinning the murder case against his widow, Sarah Wairimu Kamotho Cohen.
The case is unfolding through police records, testimony from former household workers and forensic evidence documenting the recovery of Cohen's body from a septic tank at his Lower Kabete home in September 2019.
Ms Wairimu has denied murdering her husband on the night of July 19 and 20, 2019.
The evidence, presented over several weeks before the High Court in Kibera, has moved beyond individual witness accounts to form a chronological narrative of events before and after Cohen's disappearance in July 2019.
Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen and his wife Sarah Wairimu Kamotho in an undated photo.
Photo credit: Courtesy
Together, the testimonies and exhibits trace Cohen's final months and the events leading to the discovery of his body in a septic tank.
Prosecutors say the different pieces of evidence reinforce one another, while the defence has begun scrutinising that reconstruction through cross-examination and an inspection of the alleged crime scene.
Former Parklands Police Station Officer Commanding Station James Murigu told Justice Diana Kavedza that Cohen had reported in February 2019 that he had been assaulted by his wife.
“I was the OCS at Parklands Police Station when Cohen reported that Ms Wairimu had assaulted him on the face and legs,” Mr Murigu testified.
He said Cohen was issued with a P3 form which was completed by a police doctor, and officers were directed to trace and arrest Ms Wairimu for prosecution.
Mr Murigu told the court that the planned prosecution never materialised after Cohen later wrote to police asking that the case be discontinued. He said Cohen no longer wished to pursue the complaint.
The officer testified that police made several attempts to locate Ms Wairimu but were unsuccessful. He added that Cohen later became reluctant to assist investigators, saying she had travelled overseas and that he would notify police when she returned.
Sarah Wairimu Cohen, the widow of Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen (inset), during a past appearance at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
“I instructed my junior officers to trace Ms Wairimu, arrest her and take her to court. That was never to be,” Mr Murigu said.
He said investigators eventually closed the assault file after receiving another letter, allegedly written by Cohen in July 2019, withdrawing the complaint.
Days later, police were informed that Cohen had gone missing before the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) took over the case.
Former employee Mathew Muiruri Kinyanjui testified that he last saw Cohen alive on Friday, July 19, 2019, after completing his duties at the residence.
When he reported back to work on Monday, July 22, he said Cohen's phone went unanswered. Ms Wairimu opened the gate and informed him that Cohen was away.
The witness told the court that Ms Wairimu later called three employees into the kitchen and instructed them to tell anyone asking about Cohen that he had travelled to Thailand for medical treatment.
"Ms Wairimu called us to her kitchen and told us to say to anyone who asked where Cohen was that he had travelled to Thailand," he testified.
“Yes, I lied to four police officers about Cohen, as instructed by Ms Wairimu,” he said.
The witness told the court that he later returned to investigators voluntarily because he wanted to tell the truth. “After soul-searching, I decided on my own volition to go back to the DCI to tell them the truth.”
Mr Muiruri also testified that he noticed freshly poured concrete covering the septic tank and two nearby areas while walking around the compound during his lunch break.
DCI forensic analyst Benutychus Wanjohi presented 279 video recordings documenting the search of the Lower Kabete residence and the recovery of Cohen's body from the septic tank on September 10, 2019, about two months after he was reported missing.
“I was able to record and document the entire scene. I also recorded the post-mortem exercise,” Mr Wanjohi told the court.
He said he had been instructed to document the operation because Cohen's disappearance had attracted widespread local and international attention.
A body bag containing the remains of the late Dutch businessman Tob Cohen at his home in Kitisuru, Nairobi, on September 13, 2019.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The videos captured homicide detectives, forensic experts and government laboratory personnel searching the compound before retrieving a wrapped body from the septic tank.
Mr Wanjohi testified that investigators recovered a nylon rope, pieces of yellow nylon wrapping bearing a logo similar to material recovered elsewhere on the property, black fabric, a red bathrobe wrapped around the body's head and the concrete that had sealed the septic tank.
Proceedings were briefly interrupted during one hearing after Ms Wairimu became unwell as the court prepared to view footage of the body's recovery.
As the prosecution continued presenting its evidence, the court also allowed defence lawyer Pravin Bowry, Senior Counsel, to inspect the Lower Kabete residence alongside prosecutors, investigators and lawyers representing Cohen's family.
Superintendent Maxwell Otieno told those present that the visit was intended to enable the defence “to visit various scenes of the crime and more so the septic tank where the body was recovered from.”
The four-hour inspection formed part of the defence's preparations after Mr Bowry came on record for Ms Wairimu.
Justice Kavedza has previously declined to release Ms Wairimu on bond, citing concerns raised by the prosecution over possible witness interference, flight risk and preservation of the crime scene.
The hearing is scheduled to resume on July 13, with the prosecution expected to continue presenting forensic evidence as the court hears the remaining witnesses in the murder trial.
