This archive report was first published on 25 July 2021.
On June 4, 2021, Herman Rouwenhourst, a 55-year-old Dutch tycoon, was found dead at his home in Shanzu, Mombasa. He had deep cuts on his head and back, and his hands and legs were tied up.
According to a statement from the DCI, the suspects, Timothy Omondi Ngoe alias Rashid and Mary Nekesa Ambani, confessed to the crime. They claimed that Rouwenhourst's wife, Riziki Cherono, had orchestrated the murder.
Cherono had allegedly hatched a plot to eliminate her husband after he told her he wanted a divorce following their numerous wrangles and fights. On May 10, 2021, she organized a meeting with the suspects at one of her husband's hotels.
Cherono had taken Rashid to their home on a recce mission to familiarize himself with the home, as revealed by the DCI. Rashid even took photos of the bedroom where Rouwenhourst was later found dead and was promised a hefty pay after the completion of the murder.
On the fateful night, Cherono opened the door to their apartment, letting in Rashid and other suspects still at large, to commit the murder. The suspects broke into the safe and took off with over Sh. 3 million.
Cherono staged a fake kidnapping after the murder of her husband, but was later found in the couple's Toyota Probox around Serena hotel with her hands tied to the steering wheel.
Two weeks after the murder, Rashid acquired a plot with proceeds from the murder, measuring 40x80ft at Kiembeni, and constructed a four-roomed house at an estimated cost of over Sh 1.5 Million. He also furnished it with newly acquired household items, worth over Sh 500,000.
The suspects will be arraigned in court tomorrow to answer to murder charges.
