NAIROBI, 13th October 2026 – Former Gatundu North MP Patrick Kariuki Muiruri has told the court that the late businessman Tob Cohen had expressed deep fears that his wife, Sarah Wairimu Kamotho, should be held fully responsible should any harm befall him or should he be found dead.
Testifying as a witness during the resumption of the murder trial before Lady Justice Diana Rachel Kavedza, Muiruri recalled that Cohen, his friend of 30 years, had confided in him days before his disappearance and eventual discovery inside a tank at his Kitisuru residence.
“If anything bad happens to me, or I am found dead somewhere, tell them it is Sarah,” Muiruri quoted Cohen as saying.
Muiruri made the submission on Monday, 12th October 2026, in the murder case where Wairimu is charged in connection with her husband’s death.
As one of three witnesses called by the prosecution team led by Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Vincent Monda, Muiruri testified that a wedding held in December 2018, which Cohen and Wairimu attended, turned frosty when the two publicly disagreed, prompting Wairimu to tell her spouse, “This is not your house.”
According to Muiruri, Cohen had further divulged his intention to divorce Ms Wairimu due to “irreconcilable differences over alleged theft of property documents, misappropriation of their joint travel company funds and prolonged marital difficulties.”
Four days later, Tob Cohen called me and expressed fear about returning to his matrimonial home, and his warning during that conversation was our last exchange,” he said.
Mary Mutisya, a law firm clerk, also testified that Ms Wairimu had requested a search of land records relating to Cohen’s property and later sent her payments via M-Pesa.
“She asked me to do a follow-up on an application to withdraw a caveat registered against the property. I later learnt from media reports that Tob Cohen was missing,” she told the court.
Government Analyst and forensic expert John Mungai produced exhibits, including clothing allegedly belonging to Cohen.
They comprised a curtain recovered from inside the water tank, a red robe, and a yellow polythene bag that the court heard had covered Cohen’s body when it was recovered from his compound.
The body of Tob Cohen, a Dutch businessman who went missing between 19th and 20th July 2019, was retrieved from an underground water storage by the DCI Homicide Detectives at his Kitisuru, Nairobi home.
The hearing continues on 14th October 2026.
