NAIROBI, Kenya — People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua has said the conviction of former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his two co-accused in the murder of Sharon Otieno should mark a turning point in Kenya’s response to femicide and the persistent delays in the country’s criminal justice system.
Reacting to the High Court’s verdict, Karua said Sharon’s family had finally received justice after waiting nearly eight years but stressed that the lengthy legal process highlighted the urgent need for faster investigations and prosecution of gender-based killings.
“It has taken seven years and 10 months, 42 prosecution witnesses, and 81 exhibits presented by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for justice for Sharon Otieno to finally arrive. Today, as Sharon’s family sat in court to hear the verdict, we were reminded of the immense cost of justice delayed,” Karua said.
While commending the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for securing the convictions, Karua argued that justice should not take nearly a decade to be delivered.
“We commend the prosecution, but justice must not take nearly a decade,” she said.
Karua called on the National Police Service, the ODPP, and the Judiciary to apply the same level of commitment and diligence demonstrated in Sharon’s case to every femicide investigation, regardless of whether it attracts national attention.
“Across Kenya, from young girls to grandmothers, women continue to be lost to a horrific wave of femicide. Our police, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the courts must bring the same rigour, urgency and commitment to every case, not only those that attract national attention,” she said.
She also urged Kenyans to play an active role in combating violence against women.
“We must all do our part to end the killing of women,” Karua added.
Her remarks followed the High Court’s conviction of Okoth Obado, his former personal assistant Michael Oyamo, and former Migori County Clerk Caspal Obiero for the 2018 murder of Sharon Otieno.
“It is therefore my finding that the prosecution has proved its case against the first, second and third accused persons beyond reasonable doubt. I consequently find each accused guilty of the offence of murder. Each accused is accordingly convicted,” Justice Githua ruled.
The court found that the prosecution established an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence linking the three convicts to Sharon’s abduction and murder.
Justice Githua further held that Obado had a motive arising from Sharon’s pregnancy and rejected his defence that he had accepted the pregnancy, finding instead that evidence presented during the trial showed he had pressured her to terminate it.
Sharon, a 26-year-old Rongo University student who was about seven months pregnant, was abducted alongside Nation Media Group journalist Barrack Oduor after leaving Graca Hotel in Rongo on September 3, 2018. Oduor escaped by jumping from the moving vehicle, while Sharon’s body was later found in a thicket near Kodera Forest in Homa Bay County with multiple stab wounds.
During the trial, prosecutors called 42 witnesses and produced 81 exhibits, relying largely on circumstantial evidence to prove the case.
The offence of murder is established under Sections 203 and 204 of the Penal Code, while criminal convictions must satisfy the constitutional standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt. The convicted persons remain entitled to mitigation before sentencing and have the right to appeal the High Court’s decision to the Court of Appeal.