Court finds Kenyan woman has case to answer in murder of Dutch tycoon

The case of Riziki Cherono is among the most intriguing of all times in the corridors of justice, driven by the ‘wanting it all, at all costs lifestyle.’

Her life was defined with abundant wealth, a high-end lifestyle, endless entertainment, power, influence and a pending divorce.

Cherono was married to two Dutch tycoon brothers, William Rouwenhorst and Herman Rouwenhorst, at different times and sired three children.

In September 2021, it was revealed that Cherono was married to the brothers who have vast investments in entertainment and real estate in Mombasa and Kilifi County.

She was later, in September 2021, charged with orchestrating the murder of 55-year-old Herman, who had allegedly threatened to divorce her, according to police reports filed in court.

Cherono was charged alongside Mary Ambani and Timothy Bgowe with the alleged murder of Herman and Evans Bokoro, a security guard manning the gate to their palatial home at Roco Apartments in Shanzu, Mombasa County, on June 4, 2021.

Ambani’s sentence was reduced to manslaughter after she confessed to letting in Bgowe and other killers into Herman’s house and disposing of the phone used to communicate with the killers.

On Monday, Justice Wendy Micheni found Cherono and Bgowe with a case to answer for allegedly orchestrating the gruesome murder of Herman, the younger sibling to William

Justice Micheni said that the prosecution had established a prima facie case to warrant Cherono and Bgowe being placed on defense.

“In the foregoing, the court finds that the two accused have a case to answer and are accordingly placed on their defense, “said Justice Micheni.

According to a marriage certificate produced in court by investigations officer Reuben Mwaniki in 2021, Cherono was married to William. A birth certificate showed that she bore children with the two brothers at different times.

Mwaniki further produced a birth certificate of a child born out of Cherono and William's marriage.

The officer said that the woman sired two children with the late Herman. 

Cherono's children were among the prosecution witness placed under witness protection.

Mwaniki told the court that Cherono planned, procured and facilitated the perpetrators who killed Herman for her own benefit,

“The accused person gave a key to the perpetrators to access the house on the material date when the murder was executed. The accused was persistent when the murder was not committed on two previous occasions,” said Mwaniki.

According to the investigation officer, the hitman (Bgowe) was introduced by Ambani to Cherono as a suitable person who could undertake the murder at an agreed fee of Sh1 million.

Mwaniki told the court that Bgowe allegedly met with Ambani at a hotel to plan how to murder Herman and the guard.

He said on May 17, 2021, after a meeting attended by the accused persons at EDMATI INN, Bgowe was assisted to take photographs of the Roco Apartment and an internal layout of the victim’s house to familiarise himself before executing the plan.

Mwaniki told the court that Ambani was allegedly in the deceased’s compound during the attack and pretended to open for his boyfriend and thereby ushered in Bgowe who proceeded to murder Herman and Boroko.

The officer claimed that Bgowe took money of unknown value in different currencies and used it to buy a piece of land where he built a house.

Mwaniki said police recovered a piece of rope from Bgowe’s house that was cut from the one used to tie his victims.

It was revealed that Bgowe is not registered as a Kenyan citizen and had registered two mobile phones in different names to evade arrest.

The court was told that Ambani was an employee and close friend of Cherono.

However, in her replying affidavit, Cherono said that she did not kill her husband.

“I did not kill and I am not responsible for the death of my husband, Herman Rouwenhorst and a guard, Evans Boroko. I am most interested who did it,” said Cherono.

She said the charges against her were circumstantial, suppositions, speculations and conjecture adding that she was just a scape goat to save the face of investigators.

Cherono alleged that the killers kidnapped her from the house and forced her to drive away from their home in Herman’s car and later abandoned her in the car with her hands tied to the steering.

“They then tied my hands and the two men kidnapped me. I was thereafter tied to our car away from the house after taking me away from the house and compound by forcing me to drive,” said Cherono.