The murder trial of Sarah Wairimu Kamotho, accused of killing her husband, Dutch businessman Tob Cohen, resumed on Friday at the deceased’s Kitisuru residence, shedding new light on the gruesome discovery of Cohen’s body.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions presented testimony from a retired officer of the Crime Scene Support Service at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Frank Anunda, who played a key role in processing the crime scene.
Read: DPP paints the Cohens’ “toxic marriage” as murder trial starts
Anunda testified that on September 10, 2019, he was summoned to Cohen’s home by Inspector Otieno of the Homicide Section.
Arriving at 3:00 PM, he joined a team of DCI investigators, forensic experts from the Government Chemist, two workers, the suspect Sarah Wairimu, and two lawyers.
The team worked until 9:30 PM, meticulously documenting the scene.
Three days later, on September 13, 2019, at 10:30 PM, Anunda returned to the scene following another urgent call from the lead investigator.
While combing through a pile of objects in the compound, the team uncovered a sealed underground water tank containing a small amount of water. The tank had been cemented shut, raising suspicions of concealment.
“When we removed the sealed cover and used a spotlight to look inside, we immediately spotted an object wrapped in black cloth,” Anunda told the court. “When we pulled it out, we discovered it was a human body.”
The body was confirmed to be that of Tob Cohen, the missing businessman whose disappearance had gripped the nation.
The discovery was documented with forensic photography, and Anunda presented six booklets containing 105 photographic prints as evidence.
These included 24 photographs capturing the moment Cohen’s body was retrieved from the tank, five photos of Sarah Wairimu viewing the body at Chiromo Mortuary, and 24 images from the post-mortem examination, which revealed both external and internal injuries.
A dental examination, supported by six images, confirmed Tob Cohen’s identity through a distinctive golden tooth.
Additional photographic evidence included detailed images of Cohen’s home, covering his office, bedroom, dressing room, guest bedroom, Wairimu’s bedroom, laundry area, bathrooms, sitting room, guest washroom, and TV room washroom, where biological samples were collected.
The trial, presided over by Justice Diana Kavedza, also saw the court deny Sarah Wairimu’s third request for bond.
The prosecution, led by Vincent Monda, Wangui Gichuhi, Ebby Maswai, Sarah Ogweno, Peris Maina, Christine Timoi, and Lindah Mwamburi, opposed the application, citing Wairimu’s lack of remorse and a prior attempt to intimidate a police officer and witness.
Justice Kavedza ruled that bail would not be granted at this stage, emphasising the risk of interference with the judicial process.
Further, the court ordered that Cohen’s Kitisuru home remain preserved for future witness testimony. The property will be under the custody of the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Spring Valley Police Station, with neither Wairimu nor her family allowed access without prior court authorisation.
The case, which has drawn significant public attention since Cohen’s disappearance in July 2019, centers on the murder of the Dutch tycoon, whose body was found tortured and bound in the underground tank on his own compound.
Wairimu, the lead suspect, is accused of orchestrating the murder on July 19, 2019. Previous reports from 2019 by the DCI revealed that Cohen had been tortured before his death, with his hands, legs, and neck bound, and his body concealed in the tank in an apparent attempt to cover up the crime.
The trial will be mentioned again on May 7, 2025, for further directions.
