Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen who went missing in late July.

The body of missing Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen was on Friday afternoon found in a septic tank at his home in Kitisuru, Spring Valley, Nairobi.

His wife Sara Wairimu who was arrested days after his disappearance is still in police custody.

Cohen, a former CEO of Philips Electronics East Africa, was reported missing from their Lower Kabete home in Nairobi between July 19 and July 20, 2019.

Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti was quoted as saying the body was discovered inside a septic tank in his compound at Kitisuru, Spring Valley Road in Nairobi.

“Cohen was It is a gruesome murder, they took their time to kill innocent Cohen,” said Kinoti.

“He was bound (on) legs, hands, and neck before he was murdered and then they hid him in an underground water tank. They took their time,” he added.

Kinoti said that the body was wrapped in layers of clothing indicating the gruesome torture he underwent before his death. DCI George Kinoti addressing the press after finding the body of Dutchman Tob Cohen. [Photo: Courtesy]

On August 28, 2019, Wairimu was picked and interrogated by police for the third time over the disappearance of Mr Cohen from their Lower Kabete home, Nairobi.

The last time Mr Cohen was seen in public he had allegedly been dropped off at a club in Westlands after he left his house on the day he is believed to have disappeared.

The Dutch embassy in Nairobi reported Cohen missing after his family approached Dutch police, saying they could not reach him on his mobile phone and it was unusual for him to be out of touch for long.

Investigators say he met at least two women over lunch at the club on July 20 from around 2pm to 4pm. The two women told police during questioning that the 71-year-old golf lover left the club and they did not know his whereabouts.

Preliminary findings show his mobile phone was switched off at the same place.

Police questioned several people, including his wife and workers. The late Dutchman Tob Cohen and his wife Sarah Wairimu Kamotho. [Courtesy]

Charge sheet

A day before his body was found, a charge sheet produced in court indicating that Sarah Wairimu would be charged with the murder of Tob Chichou Cohen on the night of July 19 or July 20, 2019 at dawn.

Wairimu, however, was not required to plead before Milimani High Court Judge Charles Kariuki.

Instead Justice Kariuki directed the prosecution to conduct a mental health assessment on Wairimu before charging her with murder.

Lawyer Philip Murgor, for Wairimu, also objected that the plea-taking was against the law because “the prosecution has appeared in court without any tangible evidence or a body of the alleged deceased”.

The lawyer told Justice Kariuki that his client had been in custody for 16 days and the prosecution ought to have conducted the mental assessment then.