- Former MP Patrick Muiruri told the court that Tob Cohen warned him days before his death that Sarah Wairimu should be blamed if he was found dead
- Muiruri testified that Tob Cohen had expressed fear about returning home after disclosing plans to divorce Wairimu over alleged theft and financial misconduct
- A law firm clerk told the court that Wairimu had sought land record searches and requested withdrawal of a caveat on Tob Cohen's property
A former member of parliament has delivered chilling testimony in the ongoing murder trial of Sarah Wairimu Kamotho, recounting a final phone call in which Dutch businessman Tob Cohen allegedly named his wife as the person to blame if he died.
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Patrick Muiruri, who described himself as a friend of Tob Cohen for three decades, took the stand before Lady Justice Diana Rachel Kavedza as the trial resumed in Nairobi. The prosecution, led by Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Vincent Monda, presented three witnesses during the session.
Tob Cohen's Final Conversation
Muiruri told the court that Tob Cohen pulled him aside at a December 2018 wedding where tensions between the couple had spilt into public view. He recounted how Wairimu told her husband that evening, "This is not your house," in what Muiruri described as an open confrontation.
By July 15, 2019, according to Muiruri's testimony, Tob Cohen had resolved to file for divorce, citing allegations that Wairimu had taken property documents, misappropriated funds from their company and subjected him to prolonged marital difficulties.
Four days after that conversation, Tob Cohen reportedly called Muiruri again, this time expressing fear about going back to his matrimonial home. During that call, Muiruri testified, the businessman delivered a stark warning:
"If anything bad happens to me, or I am found dead somewhere, tell them it is Sarah." That exchange, Muiruri said, was the last time the two men spoke.
Property Searches and Physical Exhibits
A second witness, Mary Mutisya, a clerk at a law firm, told the court she had assisted Wairimu with searches of land records connected to Tob Cohen's property. Mutisya said Wairimu subsequently sent her payments via M-Pesa and instructed her to follow up on an application to lift a caveat registered against the property.
She added that she only learnt of Tob Cohen's disappearance later through media reports.
Government analyst John Mungai rounded out the day's witnesses by producing physical exhibits, among them clothing said to belong to Cohen, a curtain retrieved from inside a water tank, a red robe and a yellow polythene bag.
Wairimu faces charges in connection with the death of her husband, whose body was discovered in a septic tank at their Kitisuru home in Nairobi in September 2019 after a weeks-long search.
The hearing is scheduled to continue on October 14, 2026.
Tob Cohen's Housekeeper Speaks
In other news, TUKO also highlighted facts about Chrispinus Shihemi, a former housekeeper at Tob Cohen’s home, who testified about events before the businessman’s death.
His account took an unexpected turn when he told the court he cooked ugali and omena after witnessing a confrontation between Cohen and his wife, prompting the judge’s quip: “Mluhya lazima tu ataje chakula.”
Source: TUKO.co.ke