Cohen murder: Haji wants former OCPD investigated

The Tob Cohen murder case has taken a new twist that has exposed the deteriorating relationship between DPP Noordin Haji and DCI George Kinoti.

The Star has established that Haji has ordered the investigation of former Gigiri OCPD Richard Mugwai in relation to the murder.

The details emerged just days after the DCI accused Haji of hiding crucial information that would implicate Court of Appeal judge Sankale ole Kantai in the killing.

Haji wants the police to record a statement and vital information taken from Mugwai to help fill gaps in the probe.

At the heart of the latest move by the DPP is a letter written by Cohen dated July 12, 2019. In the letter to the DPP, Cohen complained that Mugwai was collaborating with his then estranged wife Sarah Wairimu to kill him.

Through his advocates, he told Haji that “...unless your offices act speedily and accordingly, our client will continue to suffer humiliation, discrimination and persecution because he is not a Kenyan national, which is wrong, distasteful and unfortunate.”

At the time, Cohen and Wairimu were embroiled in a divorce case.

Cohen accused Mugwai of collaborating with his wife to frustrate the course of justice.

Cohen, a Dutch doing business in Kenya and the East African region, died in July 2019. His body was found in an underground water tank in his compound nearly two months after he went missing.

Cohen had also alleged that Wairimu had repeatedly assaulted him and was colluding with the then OCPD to have him prosecuted.

According to Cohen, the plan was to have him charged with assault in a bid to have him deported from Kenya so she could retain his multimillion-shilling estate.

Wairimu is the prime suspect in the murder case. She is facing court charges alongside another. 

In light of the complaint, Haji had in March 2020 directed Kinoti to take a statement from Mugwai.

He also wanted the police’s investigation to have Mugwai “state his relationship with and what relationship he had with Sarah Cohen, including communication on July 30, 2019”.

In a second letter dated September 30 this year and addressed to Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, Haji again directed that a statement from the officer be recorded and the information forwarded to his office.

Again, the police failed to honour the directive.

In a letter dated October 1, Haji complains that Kinoti and the investigating officer ignored the directive.

“We have noted from our records that the above directives were not carried,” he said.

Haji said the police must swiftly gather the needed information.

“This is to kindly direct that the statement of Mugwai be recorded and the above information obtained and the duplicate inquiry file forwarded as directed by the DPP in the letter dated September 30, 2021, addressed to Inspector General of National Police Service,” the letter reads.

The DPP and the DCI have had a frosty relationship of late, especially over the Cohen murder case.

Kinoti's officers have accused Haji of hiding crucial information that would nail Justice Kantai in relation to the matter. 

Detective John Gachomo, who is working on the case, swore an affidavit in court alleging that Haji hid crucial evidence adverse to the judge. 

Cohen's family has also protested and their lawyers have petitioned to have Haji removed from office.

As a result of the back and forth, Haji last week called for a foreign investigating agency to probe the case afresh to allay fears that it has been mismanaged. 

Last week, he directed the IG to have Gachomo investigated. 

Wairimu's lawyer Philip Murgor welcomed the move, saying Kinoti was deliberately mishandling the case. 

He said should foreign investigators be finally roped in, they should not be from the Netherlands, as the country's press has been biased against his client. 

The biased press narratives would colour the judgement of the investigators, Murgor said. 

Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya