Cohen murder: Sarah Wairimu to remain in custody as court denies her bond

The High Court in Kibera has denied bond to Sarah Wairimu who is accused of orchestrating the murder of her husband Tob Cohen in July 2019 until two key protected witnesses testify in the trial.

Kibera High Court Judge Diana Kavedza ruled that Wairimu would remain in custody at Lang’ata Women’s Prison until two key protected witnesses testified.

At the same time, the judge dismissed the application by the prosecution to deny her bond on grounds that she is a flight risk.

The application had been rejected by Wairimu, a team of lawyers led by Conrad Maloba who argued that she has been out on bond for six years and she can’t interfere with the said witnesses now.

Maloba had stated that Wairimu had earlier been charged at Milimani High Court with a similar charge of Cohen’s murder on September 12, 2019, and released on a cash bail of Ksh 2 million which was later released to her in November 2022 after the ODPP dropped the case.

The lawyer had also opposed a request by the Prosecution to order her out of Cohen’s home in Kitisuru maintaining it was not the deceased’s home but their (Wairimu and Cohen’s) matrimonial home.

Maloba pointed out that Sarah has been living in the matrimonial home since 2022 providing ample time for the state to assess it from 2019 when the murder of her husband took place.

The judge said that there was no evidence to show that Wairimu is a flight risk having previously been charged with the same offence for the last years without attempting to abscond the jurisdiction of the court.

“l find that the prosecution has provided sufficient grounds that there is a real likelihood to interfere with witnesses. In the circumstances l decline the accused person’s application for bail. The accused shall remain in custody until two key witnesses have testified,” Justice Kavedza ruled.

However, the court concurred with the Director of Public Prosecutions(DPP) concerns about potential interference with witnesses and the integrity of the trial.

The judge outlined evidence tendered by the prosecution showing how Wairimu had attempted to interfere with crucial witnesses, some are employees.

“The evidence on record shows that attempts were made by Wairimu or her associates to intimidate the witnesses thereby deterring them from giving testimony against her,” Justice Kavedza stated

According to the judge, the prosecution established that Wairimu and the two witnesses expected to testify were engaged in an employer-employee relationship characterised by a power imbalance inherent to superior-subordinate dynamics.

” I noted that the key prosecution witnesses are well known to the accused as they were both the employees of Wairimu and the deceased and in her affidavit does not deny that fact, ” the judge stated.

” It is also uncontested that the witnesses reported acts of intimidation to police supported by several OB numbers adduced as evidence by the Prosecution, ” the judge stated.

While declining to free Wairimu on bail, Justice Kavedza emphasised that the murder case, being of significant public interest, involved the loss of life in a particularly heinous manner.

She noted that while the accused has a right to liberty, that right must be balanced with the victim’s right to justice and the necessity of protecting the trial’s fairness.

“In light of the likelihood of witness interference and the need to safeguard the trial’s integrity, I am of the considered view that the public interest and the principles of justice outweigh the accused’s right to liberty at this stage,” the judge stated.

The decision by the court to reject Wairimu’s plea for bail comes after the DPP had opposed her release until two crucial witnesses in the case testify adding that there are high chances she may interfere with the same before they adduced their evidence in the murder trial involving her husband.

The prosecution had argued that they intended to rely on the two protected witnesses to secure the convicted Wairimu who has been charged with murdering Cohen on the high of July 19-20, 2019, jointly with accomplices at large.

“The office of the DPP wants to rely on the evidence of the two and Wairimu’s conduct during the disappearance of the deceased and inconsistencies in her responses to investigators to build circumstantial evidence against her,” Monda told the judge.

The matter will be mentioned on  February 26 for pre trial directions.

Cohen hailed from the Kingdom of Netherlands and was a businessman living in Kenya holding various positions including that of CEO of Philips Group of Companies (East Africa).

The murder of Tob Cohen shocked the nation when his body was found in the septic tank of the couple’s home in July 2019.

Wairimu and her then-co-accused Peter Karanja were arrested following the discovery.

In 2020, Wairimu denied involvement in her husband’s death and claimed that Cohen’s murder was carried out by individuals known to her and that she was being framed.

She was re-arrested after the DPP Renson Ingonga reviewed the murder case and determined that there was sufficient evidence to charge her with murder.