A senior police officer has told the High Court that repeated attempts to arrest and prosecute Sarah Wairimu over allegations that she assaulted her husband, Dutch businessman Tob Cohen, were unsuccessful in the months leading up to his mysterious death.
Testifying before Justice Diana Kavedza at the Kibera High Court, Superintendent James Murigu said police made between four and five attempts to trace and arrest Sarah after Cohen lodged assault complaints.
Murigu told the court that Cohen initially reported the alleged assault at Spring Valley and Parklands police stations. Sarah later filed a separate complaint at Gigiri Police Station, accusing Cohen of assaulting her.
The officer said the matter was eventually escalated to the Nairobi Regional Complaints Office, which directed him to take over the investigations after officers at Spring Valley Police Station encountered difficulties prosecuting Sarah.
“After I was called to the Nairobi Regional Complaints Office, I was ordered to take over the case. I instructed my junior officers to trace Sarah, arrest her and take her to court. That was never to be,” Murigu testified.
According to Murigu, efforts to locate Sarah repeatedly failed, while Cohen became increasingly reluctant to support the investigations despite being the complainant.
The court heard that Cohen declined to provide Sarah's contact details or disclose her whereabouts, maintaining that she was still his wife and that they were involved in ongoing divorce proceedings. When officers sought information on how to find her, Cohen reportedly told them she had travelled abroad and promised to inform police upon her return.
Murigu further testified that on April 17, 2019, Cohen wrote to police seeking to withdraw the assault complaint. However, in June 2019, Cohen again contacted officers, claiming he was being harassed by police from Gigiri Police Station over Sarah's counter-complaint.
The officer told the court that he subsequently prepared a report for the Nairobi Regional Complaints Office detailing the steps he had taken to ensure Cohen obtained justice.
He also revealed that on June 4, 2019, lawyer Shadrack Wambui wrote to him questioning why Sarah had not been charged despite Cohen having reported the alleged assault and obtained a duly completed P3 form signed by Dr Kamau, a police surgeon.
Murigu said that on July 22, 2019, while stationed at Parklands Police Station, he received a letter delivered by a courier rider and purportedly authored by Cohen, stating that he no longer wished to pursue the assault case.
Following receipt of the letter, the officer instructed investigating officer Mose Mbalwe to close the file after obtaining a formal statement from Cohen confirming his decision to withdraw the complaint.
Murigu's testimony forms part of the ongoing proceedings examining the circumstances surrounding Cohen's death, which occurred weeks later and remains one of Kenya's most high-profile murder cases.
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