Dutch businessman Tob Cohen left a Parklands bar alone in the early hours of July 20, 2019, a waiter told the High Court in Kibera.
Michael Wainaina, who worked at Plums Hotel in Parklands, told Justice Diana Kavedza that Cohen was a regular customer at the entertainment spot and usually left between 12.30 am and 1 am, often in the company of a woman identified as Margaret Wanjiru.
Wainaina said on the night of July 19, 2019, he saw Cohen at the bar around midnight and described him as charming and joyful.
According to the waiter, Cohen sat at the counter and ordered a drink before a lady known as Wanjiru joined him.
Wainaina told the court that Wanjiru later left Cohen to dance, while two other women joined the businessman and he bought them drinks.
He said Wanjiru became upset after returning to the counter, causing a disturbance before Cohen walked away holding his glass of drink, requested music and began singing.
The witness said Cohen told him he did not want to see Wanjiru again.
At about 1.45 am, Wainaina said, Wanjiru caused another disturbance as Cohen prepared to leave the premises.
The court heard that Wanjiru confronted a bouncer identified as Hillary, scratching his face and tearing his shirt.
“She was drunk and violent not to Cohen, but to the bouncer,” Wainaina told the court.
The waiter said Cohen was thereafter assisted and provided with security before getting into his car and driving away alone.
About 15 minutes later, Wainaina said, Wanjiru returned to the bar and sat down.
He told the court that he later learnt from television reports that Cohen had gone missing and subsequently that the businessman had been found dead at his Kitisuru compound.
Wainaina described Cohen as a quiet and humble man who would drink and go.
His evidence was corroborated by bartender Aggrey Ingano, who also worked at Plums Hotel.
Ingano told the court that Cohen arrived at the establishment and was later joined by a woman.
The businessman drank, sang and danced before paying after his second drink.
Ingano said Cohen told him he was leaving and did not want to be followed by anyone.
The bartender said he warned the woman not to follow Cohen, but she nevertheless did so.
A bouncer then attempted to restrain her, although Ingano said he did not witness what happened afterwards because he remained at the counter.
That was the last time Ingano said he saw Cohen.
The evidence forms part of the prosecution’s case against Cohen’s widow, Sarah Wairimu Kamotho, who is charged with his murder jointly with others not before the court.
Cohen, a former Philips Electronics East Africa chief executive, disappeared on July 19, 2019.
His body was later recovered from a septic tank at the couple’s Kitisuru home.
Wairimu has denied murdering her husband.
The prosecution is using testimony from witnesses who interacted with Cohen during his final known hours to establish a timeline of his movements before his disappearance.
Four prosecution witnesses have now given evidence concerning the events surrounding his final hours.
