Six years after the shocking murder of Dutch tycoon Ton Cohen, his wife, Sarah Wairimu has been arrested and is set to face murder charges at Kibera Law Courts Friday morning.

Police sources she was arrested after the Director of Public Prosecutions reviewed the case file and concluded that there was sufficient evidence to charge her.

Police sources told The Standard that there was new evidence.

The charges come after a protracted legal battle, culminating in a public inquest filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Milimani Law Courts in April 2024.

Wairimu, who was arrested on Thursday and detained at Kilimani Police Station, is accused of orchestrating the brutal murder of her husband, Cohen, who went missing in July 2019.

His decomposed body was discovered weeks later in a septic tank at their Nairobi home.

The disappearance sent shockwaves through the nation, sparking widespread media attention and intense public speculation about the circumstances surrounding his death.

Following the discovery of Cohen’s body, a massive search operation was launched, leading to Wairimu’s arrest along with businessman Peter Karanja.

However, in December 2022, the initial murder charges against Wairimu filed at Milimani High Court were withdrawn due to a lack of sufficient evidence.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) faced criticism for failing to provide crucial evidence such as cell phone data and witness statements, which led to the delay in the case’s progression.

Despite the setback, fresh findings from the inquiry have renewed hopes for justice, prompting the DPP to move forward with new charges against Cohen’s widow

The case has been clouded by controversy from the start. Wairimu, who has consistently maintained her innocence, has also made explosive claims.

She has accused powerful unnamed politicians, allegedly tied to the former government, of being involved in Cohen’s death, suggesting that they were behind a plot to seize her husband’s estate and disinherit her.

She has also alleged that the police were complicit in covering up the true nature of the crime.

Further complicating matters, Senior Assistant Inspector General of Police, John Gachomo, who was part of the DCI at the time, filed an affidavit in the High Court in which he claimed to have been misled into implicating a Court of Appeal Judge in the murder.

Gachomo later disavowed the contents of the affidavit, alleging that he had been manipulated by former DCI boss George Kinoti. This new revelation introduced additional contradictions into the case, prompting the DPP to seek more time to investigate these claims and reassess the charges.

The decision to revive the prosecution comes on the heels of a significant ruling by Milimani Principal Magistrate Eric Wambo Otieno on September 9, 2024.

Magistrate Otieno had declined to terminate the public inquest into Cohen’s death, stating that matters of such public interest required well-founded evidence from the DPP before any action could be taken.

His ruling emphasized that the public’s interest in the case warranted a thorough examination, and informal submissions by the DPP could not justify ending the inquiry.