MIGORI, Kenya – The High Court on Thursday ruled that former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his two co-accused must stand trial for the 2018 murder of Rongo University student Sharon Otieno and her unborn child.
Justice Cecilia Githua determined that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Obado, along with his former aides, Michael Oyamo and Caspal Obiero.
The three face charges of orchestrating the gruesome killing, which took place on the night of September 3, 2018, in a forest in Homa Bay County.
The prosecution built its case over several years, presenting 42 witnesses, including a journalist who was abducted alongside Otieno but managed to escape by leaping from a moving vehicle.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) credited “prosecution-guided investigations” for securing enough evidence to sustain charges against the accused.
The case will be mentioned on February 25, 2025, for further directions.
Obado, through his lawyers Kioko Kilukumi and Rodger Saganba, had argued in his final submissions last year that the prosecution failed to prove his involvement in the murder.
He admitted to having a relationship with Otieno but insisted he had no reason to harm her, maintaining that he was prepared to support her and their unborn child.
His co-accused, Oyamo and Obiero, also sought acquittal, claiming the prosecution relied on false testimony and failed to link them conclusively to the crime.
With the court now moving the case to trial, the three will have to defend themselves against the prosecution’s evidence, which has so far withstood legal scrutiny.
If convicted, they face the possibility of life imprisonment.
