Cohen’s widow and sister agree on slain tycoon’s private burial date
Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen will be buried on Monday in accordance with Jewish religious rites, the family has said.
Lawyers Cliff Ombeta, for Cohen’s sister, Gabrielle Van Straten, and Philip Murgor for Cohen’s widow, Sarah Wairimu, on Thursday agreed to proceed with burial plans subject to obtaining a court order.
The lawyers also listed three conditions which will have to be adhered to.
These conditions are, the burial ceremony will be private and for family members only, Sarah and Gabrielle will participate as widow and sister respectively and the burial rites will be in accordance with Jewish rites by the concerned community leaders at the Jewish Cemetery along Wangari Mathai Road on Monday at 2pm.
“The DPP, DCI, and Prison Authorities are requested by both Sarah and Gabriel to facilitate this compromise arrangement, so that the late Tob Cohen can be accorded a dignified send as proposed,” part of the statement read.
Cohen’s widow, Wairimu, who is a suspect in the murder case, was on Wednesday allowed to be present during the autopsy conducted at the Chiromo Mortuary in Nairobi.
This after Wairimu wrote a letter to Chiromo Mortuary disputing the handover of Cohen’s remains to his sister Gabrielle for burial.
In the letter seen by Nairobi News, lawyer Murgor said that his client demands that after the postmortem exercise, the body of the late Cohen should not be released to anyone else.
POSTMORTEM
According to Wairimu, her sister-in-law did not have the authority to bury her husband.
She had earlier presented a marriage certificate in court and claimed the legal custody of her husband.
But that stalemate was broken late on Wednesday evening after the postmortem, when Gabrielle and Wairimu reached an agreement on the slain tycoon’s burial.
While addressing journalists at Chiromo Mortuary on Wednesday evening, lawyers Murgor and Ombeta, stated that the family was keen on having Cohen’s body laid to rest within the shortest time possible.
“We all agree that the late Tob Cohen needs to be laid to rest as quickly as possible in a dignified manner those are the wishes of Sarah and her sister,” Murgor said.
Wairimu is currently on remand at Langata Women’s Prison and is expected to take a plea on September 26.
The body of the Dutch tycoon was found in a septic tank at his home on September 13 almost two months after he was reported missing.