Former Migori County Governor Okoth Obado and his two aides have a case to answer in the gruesome murder of slain Rongo University student Sharon Otieno as ruled by the High Court on Thursday January 30th 2025.
Ms Otieno who allegedly had a romantic relationship with Obado was brutally murdered on the night of 2nd September 2018 with a postmortem report verifying that she was seven months pregnant.
In the case which has been on and off for about six years, Director of Public Prosecutions(ODPP) represented by Catherine Mwaniki, Gikui Gichui, Allen Mulama, Bessie Gikonyo and Sarah Ogweno implicated the former county chief and Michael Oyamo and Caspal Obiero who were his confidants by the time of the heinous incident.
High Court lady Justice Cecilia Githua while delivering the ruling revealed that the Prosecution had established a substantial evidence case against the three suspects implying that Obado and his co-accused have to respond to the evidence presented against them by the prosecution.
“I have considered these submissions and I’m in agreement that indeed, the evidence adduced by the prosecution in support of Sharon’s baby doesn’t support the charge of the murder,” the lady justice noted as she further minimized the trio’s chances of proving themselves innocent.
During a similar court proceedings in November last year, Obado’s lawyers led by Kioko Kilukumi argued that there was no reason why their client would want Sharon harmed as he had already accepted to bear the responsibility of her unborn child.
The ruling comes amid the increasing number of femicide and Gender Based Violence(GBV) related cases in Kenya which has put the country on the spotlight.
Okoth Obado’s case will be mentioned on 25th February 2025 for further processing as confirmed by the office of the ODPP through its official communication channels.
