Kenyan prosecutor to charge former Philips boss' wife with his murder in 2019

The Public Prosecution Service in Nairobi has reported that the investigation into the murder of Dutch man Tob Cohen (69) in 2019 is now finalized and that his wife is being accused of the murder due to “overwhelming and convincing evidence.” Leading prosecutor Renson Ingonga is said to have produced new evidence, Kenyan media outlets reported. The woman was arrested on Thursday.

Ingonga’s predecessor, Noordin Haji, had dropped the charges against Cohen’s wife, Sarah Wairimu Kamotho, who has long been suspected of the murder, and a fellow suspect in 2022. This led to surprised reactions and suspicions of cronyism in the Kenyan media.

Cohen’s relatives in the Netherlands’ accused Haji and a prominent judge in Kenya of being involved in the murder and having obstructed the investigation.

The victim moved to Kenya in 1987 as CEO of Philips Oost-Afrika. He continued living in Kenya after leaving the position and started his own company there. He said that he felt threatened by his wife, who he was in the process of divorcing in 2019 after years of conflicts. He disappeared in July 2019, and his wife was arrested at the time. Cohen’s remains were found in a septic tank near his home in September of that year.

Wairimu appeared in court on Friday in a preliminary hearing. The court decided that she would remain imprisoned in the Langata women’s prison in the southwestern part of the Kenyan capital for the time being.

The courts now need to decide whether an investigation into the suspect’s mental health is needed before she is officially charged in a hearing and will have to plead guilty or not guilty.

Her lawyers claim that this investigation is not necessary and demand the court rule on whether this prosecution is legal after the charges were dropped in 2022. The judge, Diana Kavedza, has set the next hearing for Monday.