Musician Recalls Tob Cohen Singing ‘Love Gone Sour’ Days Before Death

The murder trial of Sarah Wairimu over the killing of her husband Tob Cohen continued Thursday at the High Court as four more prosecution witnesses testified.

One of those witnesses was Haston Kombe, a musician and owner of the Plums Hotel band, who served as the 17th prosecution witness. Kombe told the court that he saw Cohen at the hotel on July 19, 2019, just days before Cohen disappeared.

Kombe said Cohen joined the hotel’s evening entertainment and performed with the band. He added that Cohen repeatedly sang a song titled “Love Gone Sour” and remembered him singing the line, “You* old woman, you treat me so mean; you are the meanest old woman I have ever seen.”*

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said the witness later learned from media reports that Cohen had been reported missing.

Samuel Murathimi, then the Golf Operations Manager at Muthaiga Golf Club, also testified and produced records showing that Cohen visited the club on July 19, 2019. The prosecution submitted the documents as part of its documentary evidence.

The court also heard from Sergeant Mbalwe of Parklands Police Station, who spoke about an earlier assault complaint that Cohen filed against his wife. Mbalwe told the court that Cohen reported the alleged assault on February 13, 2019, initially saying he did not want his wife arrested, before later reversing his decision.

The officer added that on July 19, 2019, Cohen contacted him and reported that his wife had gone back to their residence, requesting police action.

“The matter was escalated to his superiors, who subsequently dispatched officers to the residence. According to the witness, effecting the arrest became difficult after the suspect locked herself inside the house,” the ODPP noted.

The witness also testified about efforts to contact Cohen after the complaint. He told the court that authorities registered an assault case at the Kibera Law Courts on July 31, 2019, and he outlined what followed after the businessman was later reported missing.

He confirmed that the police records introduced into court formed part of the prosecution’s documentary evidence.

John Mungai, a former government analyst and forensic controller, then took the stand as the fourth witness. He told the court that he analyzed several exhibits recovered during the investigation, including material taken from Cohen’s residence, vehicles, bedrooms, and a water tank.

Mungai added that DNA testing on some of the exhibits produced profiles linked to unidentified sources: one male and one female.

The DNA profile taken from the steering wheel of motor vehicle KZQ 947, the witness told the court, matched an unknown male.

The prosecution added that DNA profiles obtained from Cohen’s cartilage and nail samples aligned with those of a biological sibling of Gabriella Hannah Cohen and Bernard Cohen.

It also said that some of the other exhibits generated mixed DNA profiles, while others produced no usable DNA profile.

Lady Justice Diana Rachel Kavedza adjourned the trial to October 12 and 14, 2026. On those dates, seven and five prosecution witnesses are expected to testify, respectively.

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