This archive report was first published on 31 August 2019.
August 31, 2019
Police investigating the disappearance of Dutch billionaire Tob Cohen have turned their attention to his mobile phone, which may have remained in Westlands, Nairobi, on the day he vanished.
According to new revelations, the last known location of Cohen's phone has raised questions about whether he left Kenya, as initially claimed by his estranged wife, Sarah Wairimu.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) was granted a three-day extension to detain Wairimu until Monday, when a court in Kiambu will determine if the State can continue holding her for 14 days.
Police Inspector Maxwell Otieno, from the homicide unit of the DCI, told the court that preliminary investigations suggested Cohen may have been kidnapped.
"It's highly probable that Cohen might have been kidnapped from his residence and taken by the respondent to an unknown place where the kidnap may have turned to murder," Otieno argued.
Wairimu is yet to be charged in connection with her husband's disappearance, which has been ongoing for 40 days.
Police are analyzing calls, text messages, and financial transactions from Wairimu's mobile phone to determine if those she communicated with in the days leading up to Cohen's disappearance have any knowledge of the case.
Workers at the couple's residence in Kitisuru, Nairobi, have also been questioned, as have individuals who communicated with Wairimu from July 18 to 21, including a mysterious man close to the tycoon's estranged wife.
A YouTube video posted by Wairimu on August 10, 20 days after her husband's disappearance, is part of the evidence being analyzed.
In the video, Wairimu portrayed her husband as a cruel man who abused alcohol and substances.
"Tob is not a young man. He is going to be 70 soon. He is a chain-smoker and that is slowing him down. And for a long time Tob has been abusing substances. That is why, unknown to many, he had all this aggression and couldn’t handle situations," she said.
