Obado seeks son's testimony after witness claims he was involved with Sharon Otieno
Former Migori governor Okoth Obado at Milimani Law Courts on July 28, 2023 during the hearing of the Sharon Otieno murder case.
Former Migori governor Okoth Obado is seeking the statements of his son Dan Achola and four others recorded by police over the death of university student Sharon Otieno four years ago.
In his application for the recorded statements of the intended witnesses, Mr Obado alleges that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had orchestrated a ploy to implicate him in Sharon's murder.
He claimed that most of the witnesses had lied to the court about the death of the then 26-year-old student.
In a bid to counter the State's case linking him to the heinous murder, Mr Obado sought to tender police recorded statements from his son Dan Achola, taxi driver Jackson Otieno Gombe, Olivia Adhiambo Oloo (wife of his co-accused Casper Obiero), his former bodyguard Elvis Omondi (a police officer), Hellen Adhiambo Odie (his wife) and the Safaricom call records of Gombe's mobile phone.
The defence lawyers, Senior Counsel Kioko Kilukumi, Rodgers Sagana and Prof Elisha Ongoya, asked Justice Cecilia Githua to order the DPP to provide Obado with the said statements, accusing the police and the DPP of "investigative and prosecutorial impropriety".
Kilukumi and Sagana requested to be given a copy of the statements taken from Gombe, Elvis, Olivia, Hellen and Dan at Oyugis police station.
Testifying in court, former MCA Lawrence Mullah said Obado had asked him to inquire from Sharon whether she was also seeing his son, Dan.
"Obado asked me to confirm whether his son Dan was also seeing Sharon because it is taboo in the Luo community for a father and son to befriend a girl/woman," Mullah told magistrate Cecilia Githua during three days of testimony last week.
The witness said he called Sharon from a Nairobi hotel when he was in the company of Obado and "she denied befriending the two at the same time".
Mullah told the judge that Sharon took a photo of her pregnancy and sent it to Dan via WhatsApp with a rider: "The boy I am carrying is your brother."
The MCA, who had been asked by Obado to intervene to resolve the acrimonious relationship between Sharon and him, said the deceased girl "categorically denied that she was a friend of Obado".
Elvis, the judge heard, allegedly called Gombe, a taxi driver employed by Olivia (wife of Casper Obiero, the third accused in Sharon's murder) and instructed him to pick up Michael Oyamo and the alleged killers of the pregnant student.
Elvis was detained by police for 10 days and allegedly refused to sign a recorded police statement implicating him in Sharon's death.
Gombe told magistrate Githua on Thursday that Elvis called him to travel from Migori to Homa Bay where Oyamo picked up Sharon Otieno and journalist Barrack Oduor before she was killed.
"Your naming of people who were either workers or friends of Obado is a ploy by the prosecution to implicate him in the murder of Sharon?" Sagana asked Gombe.
"No, it is not a ploy to implicate Obado in Sharon's murder, his bodyguard Elvis called me and instructed me to go and pick up Michael Oyamo and the men who went with Sharon and returned without her," Gombe replied.
Kilukumi, Sagana and Prof Ongoya said prosecutor Gikui Gichohi told them she would only give them the statements when the court ordered.
Ms Gichohi and Allen Mulama have so far called 39 witnesses in the murder case against Obado, Oyamo and Obiero.
Ms Gichohi denied claims that the prosecution had denied the defence statements, adding, "I do not intend to call Olivia (Casper's wife), Elvis and Hellen because they will prejudice our case.”
Ms Gichohi further said the DPP had provided statements of all the people they intend to call as witnesses.
But Kilukumi said the law requires suspects to be provided with evidence that will ensure justice is done.
Hearings continue.
