Late Dutch businessman Tob Cohen had asked police not to arrest his wife Sarah Wairimu over an assault complaint he had lodged months before his death, a court heard on Thursday.
He then repeatedly failed to secure her arrest, the court heard. A letter purportedly withdrawing the complaint arrived at the station three days after Cohen was last seen alive.
Inspector Moses Mbalwe who was then at Parklands Police Station told Justice Diana Kavedza that Cohen reported the assault on February 13, 2019.
Mbalwe was directed by the officer in charge of the station to investigate the matter. He recorded Cohen's statement and issued him a P3 form on the same day.
Cohen had an injury on his forehead and produced treatment notes, telling the officer the injuries had been occasioned by his wife, who was the suspect in the assault case.
The officer said Cohen initially asked police not to arrest his wife at that moment, saying he would inform them when he wanted her arrested. "We kept in touch," Mbalwe said. At some point Cohen told him the suspect had travelled out of the country.
Around June, Cohen said he wanted Sarah arrested. Police summoned her by phone, but she never turned up.
On July 19, 2019, Cohen called the officer at about 10am saying his wife was at home and he wanted her arrested. Mbalwe said he was off duty that day and informed his boss, who sent officers.
On July 22, 2019, while still off duty, the OCS called him and said a letter allegedly from Cohen had been received, stating that he was withdrawing the matter.
Mbalwe said he saw the letter and tried to call Cohen to confirm whether it was true, but the phone never went through.
His boss had directed that the assault investigation file be closed once the letter was received. "I tried several times, but the phone was off," he said.
He told his boss they would have to wait for personal confirmation from the complainant that he was indeed withdrawing the matter.
On July 31, 2019, police registered the assault case and sought a warrant of arrest against the suspect, citing police file 161/165/2019 and court file 978/2019.
The file contained the statement, an entry form, covering reports and a copy of the charge sheet.
During cross-examination, Mbalwe confirmed he had completed his investigation by February 15, 2019, but did no investigative work between then and July.
Asked whether he was taking instructions from a complainant, he said: "It was an offence against a person and he can decide either to proceed with the issue or not to proceed with the issue."
He confirmed there was no statement from the suspect because she had not been arrested, and that the file contained a report but no doctor's statement or other witness statements.
He said officers went to her residence to arrest her, but she locked herself inside the house.
Police learned in August 2019 that Cohen was missing and in September 2019 that his body had been found in a septic tank at their home.
The DCI headquarters homicide section later requested the original file, which police handed over.
Earlier, a musician who performed at Plums Hotel on the night Cohen was last seen alive told the court the Dutch businessman was "excited" when the band began playing 'Hit the Road Jack', and requested to perform the song himself.
Haston Kombe said Cohen approached the band as they performed the Ray Charles classic. "He was excited when the band began to perform the song and requested to perform it," Kombe said.
Cohen sang for about five minutes while the crowd cheered, after which the band moved on to another song.
Kombe described the venue's clientele as "high-end" — regular customers of Indian, British and American origin. He said he could not recall exactly what happened later that night and had no specific recollection of the man's companions.
Asked about Cohen's clothing, Kombe remembered a light-blue jacket and trousers but was uncertain about the shirt colour or whether Cohen wore a tie.
Earlier in the week, witnesses described the relationship between Cohen and his wife, with one telling the court Sarah had confided in him about marital difficulties, alleging Cohen was abusive.
He said he visited the Lower Kabete home on July 19 after Sarah made a distress call claiming police officers were at the residence harassing her, and encountered four men in civilian clothes who identified themselves as officers from Spring Valley Police Station.
Two Plums Hotel employees told the court that Cohen was a regular patron at the establishment.
They said on the fateful day, Cohen was joined by Margaret Wanjiru and two other women, and left the hotel at approximately 1:30am. That was the last time they saw him alive.
A former housekeeper testified that the couple had a strained relationship and that Cohen had a wild temper which was evident whenever he got drunk.
Cohen's decomposed body was discovered in a septic tank at the couple's Kitisuru home in September 2019, weeks after he was reported missing.
Sarah has denied the murder charges.
The trial continues.
