The widow of Mombasa-based Dutch businessman Herman Rouwenhorst will remain in custody until September 16 when her bond ruling will be made.
Riziki Cherono is being charged with the double murder of her husband and a night guard, Evans Bambo Bokolo.
Ms Cherono appeared before High Court Judge Anne Ong’injo on Thursday where she denied the charges.
She is accused of committing the crime, jointly with others at Roco apartments in Shanzu area, Mombasa county.
Reuben Mwaniki presented an affidavit seeking to deny Ms. Riziki’s bond, saying that more suspects were yet to be arrested. The police currently have three suspects, including the widow, in custody.
“Since the arrest of her accomplices, we have received evidence that the suspect authored the crime by planning, procuring and facilitating the perpetrators for her own benefit,” he said.
Read: How Wife of Mombasa-based Dutch Businessman Herman Plotted Tycoon’s Murder – DCI
Prior to the murder, Ms Cherono is said to have taken her accomplices to the house where they mastered the layout and took photographs of the bedroom where the murders were committed.
“The accused person gave a key to the perpetrators to access the home on the material date when the murder was executed. The accused was persistent that the work (murder) must be executed when the murder was not committed on two previous occasions,” said the investigator.
The businessman, 55, was found dead at his matrimonial bed at Rocco apartments in Shanzu after an attack by armed assailants on June 4, 2021. He had multiple injuries on the head with his hands and legs tied and his mouth gagged.
Two suspects, Timothy Omondi Ngoe alias Rashid aged 22, and Mary Nekesa Ambani, 33, were arrested by homicide detectives after a thorough probe into the duo’s killing.
Nekesa confessed to having been involved in the murder plot by the deceased’s wife, Riziki Cherono.
According to the DCI, investigations have revealed that the slain tycoon had notified his wife Riziki Cherono of his intentions to divorce her following protracted domestic wrangles.
However, investigations now allude to a more complicated relationship.
“The accused person claims to have been married to the deceased, but we have established what appears as if she was also a wife to Mr William Rouwenhourst, a brother to the deceased.”
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