Six years after the high-profile murder of Dutch businessman Tob Cohen, his widow, Sarah Wairimu, has been arrested and is now facing charges related to his brutal death. Wairimu, 53, was detained at Kilimani Police Station on Thursday, after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) reviewed the case and determined that there was enough evidence to press charges. She is scheduled to appear before Kibera Law Courts today.
The arrest follows a prolonged legal battle and a public inquest filed by the DPP in April 2024. Wairimu stands accused of orchestrating the murder of her husband, Cohen, who was reported missing in July 2019. His remains were later discovered in a septic tank at their home in Nairobi. The discovery of his body, weeks after his disappearance, shocked the nation and sparked intense media scrutiny.
Initial murder charges against Wairimu and businessman Peter Karanja were withdrawn in December 2022 due to insufficient evidence. At that time, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) faced criticism for failing to provide critical evidence, including cellphone records and witness statements. However, recent findings from an inquiry have reignited hopes for justice, leading the DPP to pursue fresh charges against Wairimu.
The case has been shrouded in controversy from the beginning. Wairimu has consistently denied any involvement in her husband’s death, claiming that unnamed powerful politicians tied to the former government were behind the murder. She has suggested these figures were trying to seize Cohen’s estate and disinherit her.
Additionally, she has alleged police complicity in the cover-up of the crime. Senior Assistant Inspector General of Police, John Gachomo, who was involved in the case at the time, filed an affidavit in which he claimed to have been misled into implicating a Court of Appeal Judge in the murder. Gachomo later retracted his statement, alleging he had been manipulated by former DCI boss George Kinoti. This development added further confusion and delays to the case, prompting the DPP to call for more time to investigate.
On September 9, 2024, Magistrate Eric Wambo Otieno of Milimani Court ruled to keep the public inquest into Cohen’s death alive, asserting that the public interest required a thorough examination of the evidence before any final decisions could be made.
The latest developments in the case suggest that the long-awaited justice for Tob Cohen may finally be within reach, with Wairimu now facing the full force of the law.
