The Tob Cohen Murder Case

Disappearance in July 2019

Tob Cohen had lived in Kenya for decades and was known in business and golf circles. He disappeared in mid-July 2019. His family and associates raised concern after contact stopped, while investigators examined competing accounts of where he had gone.

Early in the investigation, authorities treated the matter as a suspected homicide. Cohen's wife, Sarah Wairimu Cohen, was arrested during the investigation. She has consistently denied murdering him.

Body recovered at his Nairobi home

On September 13, 2019, investigators recovered Cohen's body from an underground tank within the compound of his Kitisuru home. Family members identified him at the scene. The discovery shifted the case from a disappearance inquiry to an established death investigation and murder prosecution.

Contemporaneous reporting and statements attributed to Kenyan investigators described evidence suggesting that the body had been deliberately concealed. Crime by Region does not reproduce unnecessary graphic detail; the evidentiary significance is that investigators found Cohen on his own property after he had been missing for weeks.

The first prosecution was discontinued

Wairimu was initially charged with Cohen's murder and pleaded not guilty. The case then took an unusual procedural turn. In 2022, then-Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji discontinued the murder charge and recommended that the matter proceed through an inquest, citing evidentiary and investigative inconsistencies.

That decision meant the first prosecution did not end with either a conviction or an acquittal on the merits. The homicide itself therefore remained unresolved.

Fresh evidence and a renewed charge

In January 2025, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said investigators had produced fresh material and that the DPP, after reviewing it, was satisfied there was sufficient evidence to charge Wairimu again. The inquest was terminated and she was re-arrested and returned to court on a murder charge.

The ODPP's public position is an allegation by the prosecuting authority, not a judicial finding. Wairimu has denied the murder charge and is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until a court enters a final conviction.

The trial remained active in 2026

The renewed case continued through witness testimony, evidentiary disputes and bail litigation. In July 2026, Kenya's Court of Appeal rejected a fresh attempt by Wairimu to obtain bail while confirming that the murder trial remained pending before the Kibera High Court.

That procedural status is crucial. The court's refusal to grant bail does not establish guilt, and the ongoing presentation of prosecution evidence is not a verdict. As of the latest sourced developments used for this file, there was no final murder judgment.

Timeline

Current classification

The Tob Cohen case is classified Unsolved / Partial. The death is the subject of an active murder prosecution, but no final judgment has established criminal responsibility in the renewed case. If a later court decision materially changes that status, the archive should be updated rather than retroactively treating allegations as proven.

Related Crime by Region files