BY SAM ALFAN.
The Director of Public Prosecution has vehemently opposed the release of the widon to Dutch tycoon Ton Cohen on bail.
While opposing the application for bail, the DPP through Wangui Gichuhi told the high court Judge Stella Mutuku that the accused person is facing serious charge and the sentence if found guilty is equally serious.
“The Sarah Wairimu has been charged with the offence of Murder and if found guilty the punishment to be meted could be that of death penalty and therefore there are more possibilities and incentives for the accused person to abscond if released on bail or bond”, she said.
In her submissions while referring to an affidavit filed in court by investigating officer Maxwell Otieno, wangui said that the post mortem examination conducted on the body of the deceased Tob Cohen revealed significant injuries and broken bones on the body and the course of death was established to be due multiple injuries due blunt force trauma.
” The manner in which Tob Cohen met his death or succumbed to the fatal gruesome horrific injuries inflicted on him was one of premeditated with intention to kill him and the fact that Sarah Wairimu and her accomplices threw the body in the water tank in an attempt to cover up the incident clearly indicates a guilty mind. Therefore there is a high possibility and likelihood that if Sarah is released on bail or bond she will inflict fear on the potential witnesses having know what she did to cohen”, added prosecution.
Wangui further said that investigation has further established that Tob Cohen’s family succumbed to the demands of Sarah while in custody to have her attend his burial after exercised undue pressure on their family threatening to prolong the burial day or delay the burial of their loved one by opposing the issuing of a burial permit which would have resulted to the delay of the burial going against Jewish burial rites if they did not consent to her attendance at the burial.
Lawyer Cliff Ombetta for Cohen’s family while supporting prosecution application told the accused person is dangerous at the moment and cannot be trusted to be with the public and she has interfered with the witnesses.
Ombetta added that the accused had the cool composure of living in a house with a body buried underneath (septic tank).
“She had the cool composure of living in a house with a body buried underneath and with no problem. That is a dangerous person”, added Lawyer Ombetta.
Court heard that Sarah Wairimu and her lawyer Philip Murgor and his assistant George Ouma arrived at the burial and caused disturbance by uttering words and refusing people to enter and pay their last respects to Cohen which caused public outcry and stones were thrown at her defence team and the matter is going to be investigated.
It was further submitted that investigation are on going and it was established that the accused person and through her agents have attempted to interfere with the course of justice and have made several attempts to interfere with witnesses standing as persons of influence in the lives of the potential witnesses.
Prosecution accused Murgor of calling potential witnesses under instructions of Sarah and asking what they had said during their interviews with the police creating an atmosphere of intimidation against the witnesses a fact that will form part of theor testimony in the court a clear indication of interferences.
But Murgor while applying for bail told the court that no compelling reasons were adduced by the prosecution to deny the accused bail.
Murgor told the court that Sarah is entitled to bail since she is innocent until proven otherwise by the court of law and she doesn’t know the state witnesses.
He said the accused property was declared as scene of crime and Sarah can’t access her property since it is under Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti through investigating officer called Mwangi.
Murgor accused the DCI by alleging he was assisting people who wanted to defraud Sarah her property located in Nairobi.
He added Sarah has no other means of income apart from her company Tob limited safaris which she is a director and a shareholder.
Prosecution told the court that on July 30, this the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands reported the matter to Kileleshwa Police station to report disappearance of late Tob Cohen and were referred to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Headquarters.
Director of Public Prosecution George Kinoti commenced the investigations and in the course of the investigations and established that the Embassy had contacted the accused Sarah Wairimu on July 25 to enquire on the whereabouts of Cohen and informed them he left the country for Thailand on July 20.
The court heard that investigation revealed that the accused Sarah Cohen having been informed of the inquiry on the whereabouts or disappearance of Cohen’s it took her about twelve days to report him missing at the spring valley police station under OB No. June 17,2019 this is after the police station had tried to contact her and had visited her home to enquire on her husband’s whereabouts.
Investigators termed the delay of over 13 days from the last date, Cohen had been seen as one of inordinate delay and information received in the course of the investigations it was established that Tob Cohen was was last confirmed to be at his residence at 3:30 am on the material night of the July 10/30,2019 whilst in the company of the accused person.
Sarah during investigations has always maintained that she was in her home on the night of the 10 and day of the 20 July of July this year.
Detective told the court they cannot supply evidence at this stage but will serve the evidence during the hearing to avoid jeopardizing the imminent arrests of all the other accused person’s accomplice Tob Cohen’s body was discovered on September 13 ,2019 in an underground water tank at his residence he shared with the accused in Nairobi.
Wairimu has since been remanded at lang’ata women’s prison until October 11 when the court is expected to rule on her bail application.
Tob Cohen was a successful businessman from the Kingdom of Netherlands living in Kenya for more than 30 years holding various positions including that that of CEO of Philips Group of Companies East Africa until when he met his unfortunate gruesome death and found in a water tank at his home in along Farasi Lane in Mugomoni close.
