Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen was murdered five months after reporting to police that he had been seriously assaulted by his wife Sarah Wairimu Kamotho, a senior police officer told the High Court in Kibera on Monday.
Superintendent James Murigu testified that Sarah was due to be charged with assault when Cohen was reported missing.
However, the murder trial was temporarily halted on Monday after Sarah fainted in the dock.
The incident occurred when crime scene investigator Benutychus Wanjoji was about to play a video showing police retrieving Cohen's decomposed body from a septic tank.
Sarah appeared overwhelmed and slumped forward in the dock. A prison warder alerted the court of her condition, prompting Justice Diana Kavedza to adjourn proceedings to allow her time to recover.
She was later given a bottle of soda and a banana and escorted outside to bask in the sun, with court officials noting that the courtroom was unusually cold.
In his testimony, Mr Murigu said Cohen reported the assault at Parklands Police Station in February 2019.
Sarah Wairimu Cohen (left) with her lawyer Pravin Bowry (right) during the murder trial at the Kibera High Court in Nairobi on June 15, 2026.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation Media Group
“I was the OCS at Parklands Police Station when Cohen reported that Sarah had assaulted him on the face and legs,” Mr Murigu said.
The officer told the court that Cohen presented medical records and was issued a P3 form, which was completed by a police doctor on February 15, 2019.
However, on April 17, 2019, Cohen wrote to the OCS indicating that he no longer wished to pursue the case.
He claimed that officers from Gigiri Police Station were pressuring him and were planning to charge him with assaulting Sarah as well.
Mr Murigu said Cohen appeared to have developed cold feet, and the assault case was never pursued, despite intervention from police headquarters.
The officer said he dispatched officers to arrest Sarah, but was later instructed by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to hand over the assault case file after Cohen was reported missing.
Cohen's body was recovered from a septic tank in September 2019, nearly two months after he was reported missing in July.
The court also heard testimony from a former employee who claimed Sarah instructed workers to tell anyone inquiring that Cohen had travelled to Thailand.
Matthew Muiruri Kinyanjui testified that on July 22, 2019, Sarah called him and two other employees into the kitchen and instructed them not to disclose anything about Cohen's whereabouts.
Muiruri told the court that he had last seen Cohen on Friday, July 19, 2019, after work at his residence.
Tob Cohen's family lawyer Kimani Wakimaa (right) and prosecuting counsel Sarah Ogweno at the Kibera High Court in Nairobi on June 15, 2026.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation Media Group
When he returned to work on Monday, July 22, he called Cohen to open the gate, but his phone went unanswered.
He then called Sarah, who opened the gate and informed him that Cohen was away.
She later summoned the three employees to the kitchen and instructed them on what to say if anyone asked about Cohen.
However, while walking around the property during his lunch break, he noticed freshly mixed concrete covering the septic tank and two other spots within the compound. One of the concrete sections had a shoe mould impression on top.
“After leaving Cohen's residence on July 22, 2019, I never returned because he had gone missing and there was no work. I later found employment at a hotel where I earned Sh300 per day as a casual labourer,” Mr Muiruri testified.
Sarah Wairimu Cohen in the dock during the murder trial at the Kibera High Court in Nairobi on June 15, 2026.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation Media Group
Mr Muiruri added that he later learnt through media reports that Cohen's body had been recovered from the septic tank.
The trial, which resumed after the court dismissed Sarah's application for a mistrial and a fresh hearing, also heard references to several prominent individuals.
Defence lawyers questioned the witness about whether he had ever been contacted by former Assistant Minister Ngengi Muigai, former Gatundu North MP Patrick Muiruri, or Margaret Wanjiru Ireri during investigations into Cohen's disappearance.
Cohen, who hailed from the Netherlands, was a prominent businessman who had lived in Kenya for more than three decades.
He held various senior corporate positions, including serving as Chief Executive Officer of Philips Group of Companies East Africa. The hearing continues.
