How Sarah Wairimu lied to police about Tob Cohen's whereabouts

Sarah Wairimu, charged with the murder of her late husband, Tob Cohen. [Nancy Gitonga, Standard]

Fresh details have emerged of how Sarah Wairimu allegedly misled police investigators about the whereabouts of her missing husband, Dutch businessman Tob Cohen, days after his disappearance, giving officers conflicting accounts of his purported travels abroad and failing to report him missing.

The revelations were made before the Kibera High Court by former Kilimani Divisional Criminal Investigations Officer (DCIO) Fatuma Ali Hadi, who told the court that Wairimu initially claimed Cohen had travelled to Thailand for medical treatment.

Hadi, now a Commissioner of Police serving as Deputy Director of Planning at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), testified that she personally interrogated Wairimu on July 31, 2019, after receiving information from the Netherlands Embassy that Cohen could not be traced by his relatives.

She told Justice Diana Kavedza that on July 30, 2019, she received a telephone call from the then Kileleshwa Police Station Deputy OCS, James Nguye, informing her of a missing-person report lodged by the Deputy Head of Mission at the Netherlands Embassy, Martin Van Hoogstraten.

The diplomat had informed police that the embassy had received concerns from Cohen’s relatives, who had been unable to reach him through telephone calls and WhatsApp messages.

"I proceeded to Kileleshwa Police Station, where I found the reporter, Martin Van Hoogstraten, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Trade and Corporation at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who informed me that Cohen was missing. He also informed me that Cohen was married to a Kenyan woman known as Sarah Wairimu," Hadi testified.

The officer said the diplomat provided her with Cohen’s telephone number and that of his wife, Wairimu, whom she immediately contacted to establish her husband’s whereabouts.

During the telephone conversation, Wairimu allegedly told her that she was out of town in Nyeri attending to one of her employees, who had been admitted to hospital after sustaining injuries at a construction site.

She further claimed that Cohen had travelled to Thailand on July 20, 2019, for medical treatment and promised to appear at Kilimani Police Station the following morning at 11.30am.

On July 31, Wairimu arrived at the police station at noon, accompanied by a man and a woman whom she introduced as relatives.

Hadi asked the two relatives to leave the room before questioning Wairimu about Cohen’s whereabouts.

According to the officer, Wairimu told her that their marriage had been troubled, with several disputes ending up in court and other matters being investigated at different police stations.

However, she allegedly maintained that there was no reason for the police to worry because her husband was not missing but had travelled abroad for treatment.

"She informed me that I should not be worried because Cohen travelled to Thailand on July 20, 2019, for medical treatment and that on that morning they had breakfast together in their matrimonial home in Kitusuru. Cohen apologised to her and even promised to drop a divorce case that he had filed in court," Hadi told the court.

The officer said Wairimu claimed she had packed some items for her husband before he left for the purported trip, although she did not disclose what the items were.

During her testimony, Wairimu’s lawyer, Pravin Bowry, repeatedly interrupted Hadi as she recounted his client’s claims about the airline Cohen allegedly used to travel to Thailand. Bowry objected to the line of evidence, arguing that it was prejudicial.

However, Justice Kavedza declined to uphold the objection, allowing the witness to proceed with her testimony.

The court heard that when Hadi asked which airline Cohen had used, Wairimu was unable to provide an answer.

Hadi further testified that Wairimu admitted she had not contacted Cohen since the day he allegedly left and had received no communication from him.

The officer said she challenged Wairimu on why she was not concerned that her husband had been unreachable for more than 10 days.

"Are you not concerned as the wife that your husband left on July 20 and today is July 31 and no communication, nothing?" Hadi recalled asking her.

Wairimu allegedly repeated that Cohen was in Thailand for medication and would return.

The officer also asked whether she had reported his disappearance to any police station or contacted his relatives in the Netherlands to establish whether he was there.

The court heard that Wairimu confirmed she had neither reported him missing nor attempted to establish his whereabouts through his relatives.

"She insisted she knew Cohen was fine and had gone to Thailand for treatment and we should not worry," Hadi testified.

The officer said she instructed Police Constable Dennis Mekeso to record Wairimu’s statement to document the information she had provided during the interrogation.

In a fresh twist, Hadi told the court that as Wairimu left her office, she volunteered information that Cohen had been romantically involved with several other women, offering to provide details she believed could assist investigators in tracing his whereabouts.

Wairimu subsequently gave the officer the names and telephone numbers of two women she claimed had been her husband’s girlfriends.

She identified them as Margaret Wanjiru Ireri and Monica Wangari Githinji, saying their accounts could assist police in tracing her husband.

Hadi said she summoned the two women separately, and both confirmed knowing Cohen.

The court heard that Ireri told investigators led by Hadi that she had known Cohen since 2013 and that they had been meeting regularly.

She recalled their last meeting at Paris Hotel in Parklands, where they had drinks before leaving in a Mercedes-Benz.

Githinji, on her part, told Hadi that she had met Cohen in 2017 at a restaurant in Westlands.

She told the officer that her last communication with him was on July 17, 2019, while she was attending an interdenominational fasting prayer in Machakos.

Both women recorded statements and were allowed to leave after questioning.

Hadi further narrated how Wairimu later contacted her seeking information about Musa Yego, who was then the head of the Flying Squad, after being summoned to his office.

The officer told the court that she advised Wairimu to honour the summons issued by Yego.

Wairimu subsequently informed her that she had been advised to prepare a detailed statement about her husband’s whereabouts and submit it to Yego.

Investigations continued, with Wairimu later calling Hadi to inquire about officers who had visited her residence, including one identified as Kibet and other detectives from the DCI Homicide Unit.

Hadi said she advised Wairimu to cooperate with investigators and honour any summons issued by DCI headquarters.

On August 8, 2019, Hadi was instructed by her regional superior to hand over the matter to DCI headquarters.

She prepared a forwarding letter addressed to the then Head of DCI Investigations, John Kariuki, submitting the investigation file alongside statements from the Netherlands Embassy representative, Wairimu, Ireri and Githinji.

The file also contained a second statement by Wairimu, which she had typed herself following her engagement with the Flying Squad boss.

Hadi’s testimony provides a detailed account of the initial police efforts to trace Cohen and the conflicting explanations his wife allegedly gave investigators before the case was transferred to DCI headquarters.

The hearing continues today, with former Gigiri OCPD John Muide, now Head of Investigations in Nairobi Region, partly testifying that forensic examination of several documents, including a second will allegedly signed by Cohen, revealed that the questioned signatures were not his.