Tob Cohen Family Opposes Sarah Wairimu’s Bid to Reclaim Sh500 Million Kitisuru Mansion, Porsche

The family of slain Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen has opposed his widow Sarah Wairimu’s bid to reclaim some of his property.

In an application filed in court, Wairumu is seeking to get back Cohen’s Sh500 million house in Nairobi’s Kitisuru estate, a Porsche, and two dogs.

But Cohen’s brother Bernard, sister Gabrielle Van Straten, and niece Sharon Van Tienhoven have applied to join the case to oppose her bid saying the deceased bequeathed them the property through his will.

In his will, Cohen left half of his property to his sister Gabrielle and shared the other 50 percent equally between Gabrielle’s two children. 

Gabrielle was also given the family business and Sh100 million held in local and foreign banks while Bernard received Sh50 million held in a Dutch bank.

Wairimu, who filed the case last month, claims the Kitisiru palatial residence, the Porsche, and the two pet dogs belonged to her.

Through lawyer Philip Murgor, she challenged Cohen’s Will, claiming that an expert analysis confirmed it was a forgery.

“The purported Will that did not leave her anything was fraudulently procured. It was done by powerful forces who want to grab her matrimonial home. It is so unfortunate that she is being depicted as a stranger in her own home,” Murgor says in court documents.

Wairimu, who is charged with the murder of Cohen, wants the murder charges quashed arguing the case is founded on hearsay and built on a malicious investigative process.

She alleged that her husband was killed when she was held in custody over his disappearance by people who are well known and are being protected by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

“My husband was murdered by people who wanted to grab our Sh500 million matrimonial home in Kitisuru. They had me arrested on August 28, 2020, then colluded with investigators to implicate me after planting his body in a septic tank while I was in custody,” Wairimu says in an affidavit.

Wairimu insists she did not kidnap, assault, or kill her husband, saying they lived together for 29 years.

Cohen, who had lived in Kenya for 32 years, went missing on July 19th, 2019 before he was found dead on September 13th. 

His decomposed body was retrieved from an underground tank at his home in Kitisuru estate and was buried at the Jewish Cemetery in Nairobi on September 24th, 2019.

A postmortem examination revealed that the deceased suffered severe head trauma inflicted by a blunt object and succumbed to a blow to the right side of the head.