Okoth Obado: My relationship with Sharon Otieno was an open secret

Governor Okoth Obado has admitted to having had an affair with the late university student Sharon Otieno. ((Photo: Sharon Otieno, Collins Kweyu/Standard) Former Migori Governor Okoth Obado has admitted to having had an affair with the late university student Sharon Otieno. While appearing before the Milimani High Court where he is defending himself in the ongoing Sharon Otieno murder trial, his former lover, Obado acknowledged to have impregnanted the deceased even though he was not willing to marry her. Testifying before Justice Cecilia Githua Obado said, "The relationship between Sharon and I was an open secret and staff within the Migori County Government were aware of the affair." Obado further revealed that his wife, Hellen Adhiambo, discovered the affair in May 2018 during a devolution conference attended by all county governors at the Acacia Hotel in Kisumu County. He recounted a specific incident on the night of May 12, 2018, around 11pm, when he received a call from his wife, questioning whether he was actually at the Acacia Hotel or at another hotel where he had allegedly booked Sharon. Though he denied staying at the same hotel as Sharon, Obado admitted to paying for her accommodation in a separate hotel within Kisumu County's devolution conference. He also revealed that his wife had told him she had received anonymous calls informing her that he was having an affair with a woman named Sharon. At first, the former county boss had denied knowing Sharon, but his wife told him she had planned to catch him at the said hotel. "I had not yet disclosed to my wife that there was another lady in my life," he said adding, "When she brought it up, I was surprised she knew. I didn't accept that I knew Sharon," he added. Obado said that after his wife disclosed more information, he decided to come clean and apologise. "I decided to open up that l truly had an affair with Sharon, and I offered my apology. I will not state the exact words I used," he told the court. According to Obado, his wife mocked him, telling him to bring Sharon into their home to live with them. He assured her that the relationship had ended but acknowledged responsibility for Sharon's pregnancy. "By that time, it was no longer a secret. Social media was abuzz with the relationship, and it eventually reached my Director of Communication and media team," he testified. Obado said his Director of Communication, Nicholas Anyur approached him for guidance on how to handle the matter regarding the affair between him and Sharon "I told him it was a private affair and not a county issue, so the media team didn't need to intervene," he said. Obado also corroborated the testimony of investigating officer Chief Inspector Nicholas Ole Sena, affirming that the relationship was well known to the public. "My staff knew her(Sharon). When the relationship surfaced on social media, I became worried, mostly about my wife's reaction," he said. "I wasn't too worried about it affecting my work since I was serving my final term as governor. My biggest concern was resolving things with my wife, Hellen Adhiambo," Obado added. He also disclosed that his firstborn son, Dan, knew about the affair before his wife did. "My son is called Dan, and even before my wife discovered Sharon's existence, Dan already knew about her," he stated. He went on to describe an incident on June 18, 2018, when he and his wife had traveled abroad for one of their children's graduations. He and his wife agreed that he would first share the matter with Dan, who would then break the news to his five other siblings. "I called Dan and asked him to inform his siblings. Fortunately, he already knew about Sharon," Obado said "Then I introduced the topic about Sharon being pregnant, for me, his response was that he already knew about it," the former governor informed the court. In his evidence, led by his lawyer Roger Sagana, Obado added that while having a conversation with his son, he realised that he had been communicating with Sharon earlier on. "Dan said they knew each other through social media and Sharon told Dan that she could be her mother, and that she was carrying his brother, and she even sent her baby bump photos," Obado said adding that at one point, Dan had even given Sharon a lift to Nairobi for medical check up.

Okoth Obado: My relationship with Sharon Otieno was an open secret

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