Lawyer Details Tob Cohen’s Final Wills That Disinherited Sarah Wairimu

A bitter estate and inheritance dispute has taken center stage in the trial of Sarah Wairimu Kamotho, with her late husband’s lawyer testifying about a succession of shifting wills that ultimately disinherited her and her daughter.

Testifying before Justice Diana Kavedza at the Kibera High Court, veteran advocate Geoffrey Chege Kirundi revealed he prepared three different wills for Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen before his disappearance in July 2019. Kirundi, who has practiced law for 42 years, said that while Cohen’s initial will left his estate to Wairimu and her daughter, a subsequent revision removed the daughter, and a final will left them nothing at all.

Instead, the final document allocated Cohen’s vast wealth, including his palatial Kitisuru residence, to his sister Gabriella and her son. Kirundi read the final will at his Bruce House Chambers in the presence of relatives and lawyers Danstan Omari and Cliff Ombeta after Cohen was buried under Jewish rites at a city cemetery.

The court also heard sharp challenges regarding document authenticity, with Kirundi questioning a separate succession document dated April 30, 2019. Having known Cohen since 2000 and grown familiar with his signature, Kirundi told detectives and the court that the loops and handwriting patterns on the 2019 document did not belong to the businessman.

Kirundi detailed past property dealings involving the couple’s matrimonial home, noting that Maxwell Kinyanjui and his wife had originally sold the Lower Kabete property to Cohen after an introduction by former assistant minister Ngengi Muigai. He recalled that in March 2009, Cohen instructed his firm to transfer the property into joint ownership with Wairimu, but later halted the process after receiving legal advice and changing his mind.

The trial has also laid bare dramatic accounts of the days leading up to Cohen’s death. Kirundi recounted that Cohen told him during a July 2019 lunch that he intended to divorce Wairimu, prompting referrals to the late lawyer Judy Thongori for the divorce and Danstan Omari for an assault case. When Cohen vanished in July 2019, Gabriella, who lives in Brazil, contacted Kirundi to search for her brother.

Kirundi reached out to Muigai, while Omari visited Cohen’s residence, only to encounter a fierce dog and face reluctance from officers at Spring Valley Police Station when trying to report the disappearance. On September 13, 2019, Ms Thongori informed Kirundi that Cohen’s body had been recovered from an underground water tank and septic tank at his home. Wairimu has denied murdering Cohen on the night of July 19 to 20, 2019, and remains remanded at Lang’ata Women’s Prison after being denied bond.

Testimony earlier in the week featured former assistant minister Patrick Kariuki Muiruri, a close friend of Cohen for three decades. Muiruri testified that Cohen called him on the night of July 19, 2019, expressing fear for his life and warning that Wairimu should be held responsible if he turned up dead. The conversation followed earlier discussions about their troubled marriage held in the presence of two retired Kenya Defence Forces officers at the Kabete Veterinary Laboratories golf course.

Muiruri also disputed claims from a 2020 post-humous book alleging Cohen had enemies, including the late minister John Michuki, saying that Cohen “was a good man” who did not know Michuki. He further described an “ugly” cultural ceremony where Wairimu’s daughter married an Italian businessman and Wairimu allegedly grabbed the microphone from Cohen.

Cross-examination by Senior Counsel Pravin Bowry turned heated as the defense questioned Muiruri’s credibility and probed whether he harbored romantic feelings toward Wairimu. Muiruri denied the allegations, leading Justice Diana Kavedza to intervene and advise the witness to drink water and take a short walk around the courtroom to cool down. The murder trial continues before Justice Kavedza.