Fresh Twist in Murder Case of Mombasa-Based Dutch Tycoon as Children Implicate Mother

The murder case of Mombasa-based Dutch tycoon Herman Rouwenhorst has taken a fresh twist.

This comes after his children, aged 14 and 12, told detectives that their mother Riziki Cherono helped his suspected killers gain access into their Bamburi home on the night he was murdered.

In their statements to homicide detectives, the teenagers said their mother led three strangers into their father’s bedroom and a commotion ensued.

“Our father kept on screaming for help, as we prepared to go to their bedroom, we realized that our bedroom door had been locked from outside and we could not leave the room,” one of the children said.

Cherono later accompanied the strangers out of the apartment, according to their account.

The minors further revealed that their slain father had initiated a divorce from their mother a few months before his death, but Cherono was against the move.

“My parents were often fighting, and my dad had decided to end the 13-year-old marriage, he told us that he would no longer be living with my mother, but he would continue to take care of us,” part of their statement read.

Rouwenhorst, 55, was found lying lifeless on their bed on June 4th with his hands and legs tied using a rope, and mouth gagged.

Cherono reportedly told investigators that a six-man gang wearing hoods stormed their home in Bamburi on the fateful night.

Three of them then dragged her outside while the rest remained inside the house with her husband before ordering her to get into her husband’s car and drove off to a place near Serena Beach Hotel, where they tied her hands to the steering wheel.

Cherono was untied by passersby the next day after she cried out for help.

“I learned that the attackers had killed my husband on Friday morning when well-wishers untied me from the steering wheel,” she is quoted as saying.

Rouwenhorst reportedly emigrated to Kenya after falling in love with Cherono during a holiday. The couple had two children together. 

The deceased also had three children in the Netherlands from a previous relationship.

Rouwenhorst, who hailed from Apeldoorn, owned multiple nightclubs and properties in Mombasa and Kilifi counties.