Court Detains Sarah Wairimu For 5 Days Pending Mental Evaluation
Sarah Wairimu will spend the weekend at Lang’ata Women’s Prison, awaiting a court decision on whether she will receive a mental evaluation before pleading guilty to murder charges.
This follows her appearance before a Kibera Law Court to face accusations in relation to the death of Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen.
Sarah was arrested on Thursday and detained at Kilimani Police Station.
Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Vincent Monda urged Justice Diana Kavedza to exercise her discretion by ordering her to undertake the assessment and then enter a plea.
However, Sarah’s defence attorney stated that the prosecution has not presented any evidence to prove that anything has changed, necessitating a mental assessment.
“There’s no need to subject her to another mental assessment,” said her team of Advocates.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has asked court to facilitate a mental assessment for Sarah Wairimu Kamotho before she pleads to a murder charge.
— Office of The Director Of Public Prosecutions (@ODPP_KE) January 24, 2025
The application by the DPP was made through Prosecution Counsel Vincent Monda, Wangeci Gichui, Ebby Maswai, Christine Timoi… pic.twitter.com/5ZxOH70DS8
They encouraged the Judge to consider that she had already undergone a mental evaluation in 2019 when she was first arrested for the murder and that nothing had changed.
She also objected to the prosecution submitting a new charge sheet, especially after the DPP entered a ‘nolle prosequi’, indicating that the charges against her had been dropped.
“They entered the nolle because there were serious issues to do with the integrity of investigation of this case,” said her team of advocates.
Wairimu had initially been arrested for the violent murder of Tob Cohen. The DPP later withdrew the murder accusation and suggested that the case be registered as an inquest.
The DPP then filed an application to terminate the inquest, which was approved.
The murder file was then revisited after the DPP stated that they had new information about the 2019 incident, which required Sarah to plead guilty to the charges.
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Sarah’s defense attorneys asked the court on Friday to assess if the prosecution can present new evidence even though the charges were first withdrawn.
In a response, Monda admitted that the accusations were dropped in 2022, but this does not exclude further prosecution.
“We urge you to exercise your discretion and order that she undergoes mental assessment and thereafter we proceed to take a plea. Should the court disagree, we are still ready to proceed with the plea,” said Monda.
Kavedza then ordered parties to appear in court on Monday, where she will rule on the objections brought by counsel.
Court Detains Sarah Wairimu For 5 Days Pending Mental Evaluation
