The murder trial of Dutch businessman Tob Cohen took a dramatic turn after a prosecution witness told the court that Sarah Wairimu Kamotho, the main suspect in the case, allegedly instructed Cohen’s employees to give false information to police investigating his disappearance.
Testifying before the Kibera High Court, a former office manager at Cohen’s estate stated that shortly after Cohen mysteriously vanished in July 2019, Sarah Wairimu convened a meeting with employees in her kitchen and directed them on what to tell investigators.
According to the witness, Wairimu instructed them to consistently tell police that Cohen had left the compound carrying a red suitcase and was picked up by a white taxi at the gate before travelling to Thailand.
The witness admitted that he initially repeated the account to police as instructed but later decided to tell investigators the truth.
“Madam Sarah Wairimu told us to tell police that Tob Cohen left the compound carrying a red suitcase and that a white taxi picked him from the gate. She told us to maintain the same story to the police. But when I went to the DCI, I did not tell them that because I knew it was a lie and I did not want to lie to the police,” the witness testified.
The witness further told the court that months before Cohen’s death, he reported to work one Monday and found the businessman bleeding from a head injury. According to his testimony, Cohen informed him that Sarah Wairimu had attacked him and wanted to kill him.
“I arrived at work on a Monday when Tob had an injury on the forehead and blood was oozing from his forehead. He told me he had been attacked by Sarah Kamotho and that she wanted to kill him,” the witness recounted.
Tob Cohen, a prominent Dutch businessman living in Kenya, disappeared on July 19, 2019. After weeks of investigations and an extensive search, his body was discovered in September 2019 concealed inside an underground water tank at his Kitisuru home in Nairobi.
Sarah Wairimu, Cohen’s wife at the time, was arrested and charged with his murder. The case attracted widespread public attention due to the couple’s reported marital disputes, allegations of threats and violence preceding Cohen’s death, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the disappearance. The prosecution maintains that Cohen was murdered and that efforts were made to conceal both the crime and his whereabouts. Wairimu has denied the allegations and continues to maintain her innocence.
The trial is scheduled to continue on June 13, 2026, before Justice Diana Kavedza at the Kibera High Court.
