Court Convicts Former Migori Governor Obado in Sharon Otieno Killing
Former Migori Governor Zacharia Okoth Obado, his former personal assistant Michael Oyamo, and former county clerk Caspal Obiero have been convicted of the 2018 murder of university student Sharon Otieno.
Lady Justice Cecilia Githua delivered the verdict at the Milimani Law Courts, finding that the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. The judgment, delivered on Thursday, concludes nearly eight years of investigations and court proceedings in one of Kenya’s most closely followed murder trials.
Justice Githua found that the evidence presented by the prosecution established the guilt of all three accused. The prosecution relied mainly on circumstantial evidence, supported by forensic findings, mobile phone records, and testimony from 42 witnesses. Justice Githua ruled that the evidence formed a complete chain that left no reasonable doubt about the involvement of the three men.
The court found that Obado had both the motive and the means to facilitate Sharon’s killing. According to the judgment, he feared political and personal consequences if details of his relationship with Sharon, who was seven months pregnant, became public.
Oyamo was found to have arranged Sharon’s abduction by claiming he was delivering money to her, while Obiero provided logistical support that enabled the plan to be carried out. Sharon was abducted on the night of 3 September 2018 after leaving Graca Hotel in Rongo with Nation Media journalist Barrack Oduor.
Oduor escaped by jumping from the moving vehicle, while Sharon was later found dead near Kodera Forest in Homa Bay County with multiple stab wounds. A post-mortem examination concluded that she died from strangulation and excessive bleeding.
Investigators later focused on senior officials in Migori County, leading to the arrest of Obado and the subsequent trial of the three accused. Justice Githua rejected Obado’s claim that he had accepted Sharon’s pregnancy, finding instead that he had pressured her to terminate it. The court ruled that the pregnancy was the motive behind the events that led to her death.
The judge also found that Oyamo had fraudulently acquired a SIM card using another person’s identity. The SIM card was used only to communicate with Sharon in the days before her abduction. Evidence presented during the trial also linked Obiero to the planning and execution of the murder.
“The evidence on record irresistibly points to the fact that the accused persons, with malice aforethought, unlawfully caused the death of Sharon,” Justice Githua said in her judgment.
The three men will remain in custody for 21 days before sentencing. The court declined to grant bond, citing the seriousness of the offence and the need to complete the mitigation process before passing sentence.
