Sarah Wairimu
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Sarah Wairimu, the widow of the late Dutch businessman Tob Cohen, has been apprehended and is set to face renewed murder charges in court today.
Wairimu was detained at her home in Nairobi last evening and is currently held at the Kilimani Police Station. Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) homicide unit have reportedly uncovered new evidence connecting Wairimu to her husband's murder.
According to sources close to the investigation, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga has approved the new charges against Wairimu stemming from the 2019 case. This development follows dissatisfaction with the prior DPP Noordin Haji who had withdrawn the murder trial.
Investigators presented fresh evidence to Ingonga, leading to a renewed directive for further inquiries. A senior investigator, speaking on condition of anonymity, says, “We (DCI) petitioned the DPP on the evidence. Directions were issued for further investigations. We have now completed filling the gaps and we are ready to prosecute.”
Two years ago, Haji sought to withdraw the murder case against Wairimu and her co-accused, Peter Karanja, advocating instead for an inquest at the Milimani Law Courts. He suggested that this approach would enable all parties to address inconsistencies in the proceedings and present any new evidence that may have been overlooked.
The trial court had previously been informed that the alleged murder of Cohen occurred between July 19 and July 20, 2019. Both Wairimu and Karanja denied the allegations before High Court Judge Stella Mutuku, with each granted a cash bail of Sh2 million. However, Karanja was subsequently re-arrested shortly after his release and taken to the Naivasha Law Courts.
In a statement made in 2020, Wairimu asserted that Cohen was murdered and disposed of in a septic tank at their residence while she was detained. She claimed that the businessman was killed by individuals known to law enforcement, who were supposedly protected by DCI officers.