DNK International By Elizabeth Were,Nairobi.
Former Migori Governor Okoth Obado, his former personal assistant Michael Juma Oyamo and former Migori County clerk Casper Ojwang Obiero have been found guilty of the 2018 murder of university student Sharon Otieno.
Delivering the judgment on Thursday, High Court Judge Cecilia Githua held that the prosecution had proved the charge of murder against the three accused persons beyond reasonable doubt after hearing testimony from 52 witnesses.
Justice Githua said Sharon’s death was not disputed by any of the accused.
Relying on the post-mortem report by the Government Pathologist, the court found that Sharon died from severe haemorrhage caused by her injuries, concluding that her death was unlawful.
The judge found that Obado admitted having an intimate relationship with Sharon that resulted in her pregnancy and ruled that the pregnancy became the foundation of the events that culminated in her killing.
According to the court, evidence showed that Obado pressured Sharon to terminate the pregnancy, sent her Sh30,000 for the abortion, withdrew financial support and only re-established contact after learning that she intended to expose their relationship publicly.
Justice Githua rejected Obado’s claim that he was willing to support Sharon and the unborn child, describing the assertion as insincere in light of the evidence presented.
She also found inconsistencies in his claim that the relationship was known to his family and the public, noting that witness testimony showed he had instructed those who met him not to disclose the relationship.
The court further found that Obado used his influence and assigned the second accused, Michael Oyamo, as an intermediary to conceal his intentions. Justice Githua held that Obado was the ultimate beneficiary of Sharon’s elimination.
The judge found that Oyamo used a proxy to send Sharon money for transport to Nairobi and that the fraudulent acquisition of a SIM card and the use of intermediaries to transfer money were deliberate attempts to conceal the identities of those involved.
Justice Githua ruled that the meeting at Grasha Hotel was not intended to relay Obado’s message to Sharon but was instead a plan to hand her over to her killers.
The court found that the three accused acted in concert with others who were not before the court. It held that Obado financed the operation while the third accused, Casper Ojwang Obiero, facilitated the logistics leading to Sharon’s murder.
Justice Githua dismissed Obado’s defence that he was not present at the crime scene, holding that his absence did not shield him from criminal liability.
“It is my finding that the prosecution has proved the charge of murder against the accused persons,” the judge ruled, convicting Obado, Oyamo and Obiero in the high-profile case that has gripped the country for nearly eight years.
They were charged in 2018.
Obado represented by lawyer Kioko Kilukumi
During the trial, the court notes that At the time he was charged Obado was Migori governor.
Sharon was a second year student at Rongo university. In 2017, the mother realized that she was pregnant and revealed it was Obado. He was funding for her upkeep. Obado told her that he was not ready for the baby and told her to terminate it. He also directed that the second accused(Michael Oyamo) deals with her on the issues.
The court was told Obado abandoned her and she had financial assistance. She wanted the story published so that Obado would be reached. Sharon is said to have demanded for a house in Nairobi , a car and a good job after Obado agreed to meet her later.
She demanded for Sh25milliom to buy a house. Obado suggested that he buys a plot on homabay and build a three bedroom for Sharon where Obado was ready to finance for the construction the same period in 2018.
The journalist who boarded a vehicle to supposedly where Obado was told court that he and Sharon were abducted and luckily he rolled out the moving vehicle and ran for his safety.
Judgement by Justice Cecilia githua
The judge notes that the death of Sharon was not contested by any of the accused persons. She noted that her death was confirmed by government pathologist to have been due to severe haemorrhage which I conclude that her death was unlawful.
Total of 52 witnesses testified in the case.
Obado had decided to call off the relationship after he learned that Sharon was not truthful. He said she had lied about the kids she had. She tried to distance himself too.
The judge notes that of Obado was caring to Sharon he should not have distances himself.
The court finds Obado’s admission that he was willing to take care of Sharon’s unborn child insincere since there was evidence that he sent her 30 k to terminate the pregnancy.
VlJustice Cecilia Githua says former Migori Governor Okoth Obado admitted having an intimate relationship with Sharon Otieno that resulted in her pregnancy. Reading the judgment, she added that evidence showed the pregnancy became the foundation of events that led to Otieno’s unlawful death in 2018. Githua noted that Obado pressured Sharon to terminate the pregnancy, withdrew financial support, and only renewed contact after learning she intended to expose their relationship publicly.
Obado’s statment that his relationship with Sharon was known to the family and the public conflicted with that of a witness who testified that after meeting the governor , Obado escorted them and told them not to tell anyone
Obado used his influence and concealed his intentions by assigning the second a accused a go-between . Obado was the beneficiary of the Sharon’s elimination
The Second accused person used a random person in Nairobi to send money to Sharon intended to facilitate her transport to Nairobi.
The court found the witness independent and had no ill motive to implicate any of the the accused persons
The explanation why the sim card was acquired fraudulently and sending off the money through proxy was weak and pointed that it was meant to conceal truth …. truth and identity
Meeting at Grasha hotel was not to genuinely deliver Obado’s message to Sharon but to hand her over to killers.
The judgement that was heard after nearly eight years after her killing shocked the country.
In its final submissions, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) urged the court to convict the three accused, arguing that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Gikui Gichuhi told the court that the evidence presented established a coordinated plan involving the accused persons.
“The totality of the evidence fits together seamlessly. It forms a single, coherent picture pointing to the guilt of the accused persons,” Gichuhi submitted.
The prosecution argued that Obado, Oyamo and Obiero acted with a common intention to eliminate Sharon Otieno and silence her to avoid political and personal consequences.
According to the prosecution, witness testimony, mobile phone data, cybercrime analysis and forensic evidence placed the three accused at the centre of the murder.
The court heard that Sharon and another prosecution witness were abducted from Graca Hotel on the night of September 3, 2018, with Oyamo and Obiero allegedly playing active roles in facilitating the abduction.
Prosecutors further linked the vehicle allegedly used during the incident, registration number KCL 418K, to Obiero’s family, telling the court it was registered in his wife’s name and driven by one of his associates.
Gichuhi dismissed the defence case as lacking credibility, arguing that it failed to create reasonable doubt.
“The defence case is contradictory, implausible, and an afterthought designed to escape liability,” she submitted.
The court had previously ruled that Obado, Oyamo and Obiero had a case to answer and placed them on their defence.
[DNK-International@July 23,2026]
