Migori Governor Okoth Obado’s mobile phone was traced to Homa Bay on the day Rongo University student Sharon Otieno was murdered and not Nairobi as he had told detectives early this week.
Sources at the DCI said there was also mobile phone communication between the governor and some of those already in custody on the day Nation Media Journalist Barack Oduor and Sharon were abducted. Obado will be charged on Monday with the murder of Sharon who was killed two weeks ago.
The governor is spending the weekend at the Gigiri Police Station after Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti ordered that he be detained yesterday as detectives established that they had enough evidence linking him to the murder.
With several of his close aides already in custody over the murder of a woman the governor had admitted that he had a relationship with and DNA showing that Sharon’s pregnancy was his, there was very little room for Obado to delink himself from the crime.
If found guilty, the governor who makes history as the first ever county chief executive to be charged with murder, will face the hang man. Before that, however, he must convince the courts to grant him bail so that he does not lose his seat.
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The Constitution allows the courts to grant murder suspects a bail but also states that those in elective seats can lose them if they are unable to discharge their duties for six months. “Hon Okoth Obado has just been arrested after recording his statement... & is currently in lawful custody at Gigiri Police Station. He will be arraigned in court on Monday to face charges of murder of university student Sharon Otieno,” tweeted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). However, the governor has denied involvement in Sharon’s death.
“I want to state here clearly that I have absolutely nothing to do with the cruel death of Sharon. I want to urge all the agencies that are mandated with investigations to speed up their work so that the real killers can be brought to book,” Obado told the press last week.
By the time of going to press it was not clear whether Hellen Obado, the governor’s wife, was off the hook yet, but it is said she could be called in for questioning.
The Saturday Standard understands that the breakthrough in the murder mystery came through taxi driver Jack Gombe who drove the black Toyota Fielder used in the abduction of the university student and journalist but had not been told he was going to be part of a kidnapping. With a murder charge over his head, the driver is said to have spilled the beans and could face a lesser charge of conspiracy to commit murder, which does not warrant a death sentence. Everyone else arrested so far in the case will still face a murder charge.
Obado becomes the fifth suspect, including his personal assistant Michael Oyamo, bodyguard Elvis Omondi and a clerk in the county, Caspal Obiero, who are in police custody.
Omondi was arrested when he escorted Obiero to Oyugis police station on Tuesday afternoon. The two were yesterday arraigned before a Kisii court but were not allowed to take plea to any charge after police successfully applied to hold them for 10 more days.
For the better part of yesterday, Obado’s lawyer Cliff Ombeta tried unsuccessfully to secure the release of his client who had been requested to record another statement at the DCI headquarters on Kiambu Road, Nairobi, only to end up being detained.
“Something had to give in,” the lawyer told reporters, accusing the Director of Criminal Investigations and the Director of Public Prosecutions of giving in to public pressure.
“The governor couldn’t have done it because the two were lovers,” maintained Ombeta.
The arrest of the governor came just a day after DNA analysis showed that the seven-month-old baby Sharon was carrying was indeed his. The Toyota Fielder used to abduct Sharon and Oduor has been brought to Nairobi for forensic analysis. The car is being held at the DCI headquarters.
Yesterday, Migori County executives convened a press conference to assure the public that services would not be disrupted by the developments. “Everything will remain intact,” said Elija Odhiambo, the county Lands executive.
-Additonal reporting by Caleb Kingwara
