Sarah Wairimu on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, appeared before High Court Judge Dian Kavenza at Kibra Law Courts, where she pleaded not guilty to the murder of her late husband, Tob Cohen, in July 2019.
Wairimu took the plea after Judge Kavenza declined the application by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Renson Ingonga through lawyer Vincent Monda, to first have her undergo another mental assessment.
Delivering the ruling, Kavenza said that there was no need to subject the accused to a second mental test when she had already taken another one.
“The application by the prosecution to subject the accused to a mental assessment prior to taking a plea is thereby declined,” Judge Kavenza ruled.
On Friday, January 24, 2025, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga, through lawyer Vincent Monda, informed the court that Sarah Wairimu must undergo a mental assessment before entering a plea in the case.
“This court can’t say she is mentally fit, there must be a report and we request this court that the suspect be ordered to go for a mental assessment and then take a plea,” lawyer Monda told the court.
However, Wairimu through her lawyers led by Conrad Maloba, opposed the request arguing that the prosecution side had not shown any evidence that she needed another mental assessment.
“There is no need to subject her to another mental assessment,” Wairimu’s lawyer said.
Justice Kavenza ordered Wairimu to remain in remand at Lang’ata Women’s Prison until Monday, February 3, 2025, when the prosecution is set to file an application opposing her release on bail, while her defence team is expected to seek her release on bail.
Sarah was re-arrested on Thursday, January 23, 2025, after DPP said that they had overwhelming evidence showing that she murdered her husband Tob Cohen on the night of July 19 and 20 2019, in the Lower Kabete area, Nairobi County.
Wairimu was arrested in 2019 for the first time after her husband’s body was found in a septic tank at their Kitisuru home.
She was later charged with his murder, but the case was later dropped.
