DPP orders arrest of Obado, his four children in Sh73m graft probe
Migori Governor Okoth Obado at the Kibera Law Courts on November 16, 2018.
What you need to know:
- The anti-graft agency has been investigating how Mr Obado allegedly abused his position to steal public funds through companies registered by his relatives.
- Mr Obado, who is separately facing murder charges for the alleged killing of Rongo University student Sharon Otieno and her unborn baby, is accused of using proxies among them his relatives to siphon money from the coffers of the county government.
Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his four children face arrest and prosecution for allegedly stealing public money.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji Tuesday ordered the dragging to court of the governor’s family after agreeing with findings of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
EACC has been investigating the Migori county boss for following reports that he stole public funds through companies registered by his relatives.
According to the DPP, the governor indirectly received Sh73.4 million from companies that traded with the devolved government during his first term in office.
Mr Haji said the four children separately received Sh34.5 million from Mr Obado’s companies and three brothers, who acted as proxies in some firms the county boss owned.
“Public money was lost through connivance of the governor and the business entities in payments made for performance of contracts,” Mr Haji said in a statement yesterday.
“An audit trail of the money led to persons closely related to the governor.”
The arrest and arraignment would complicate life for the county boss who is accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend Sharon Otieno in 2018.
The governor’s children investigated by EACC are Susan Scarlet, Jerry Zachary, Evelyn Adhiambo and Dan Achola Okoth.
The governor, who was re-elected on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket in 2017, is said to have received Sh73.4 million indirectly through his children who were trading with the Migori county government between the 2013/14 and 2016/17 financial years.
The EACC audit trail shows that the companies wired Sh38.9 million to three of the governor’s children, which was used to pay their school fees, upkeep, maintenance and medical bills in Australia, Scotland and the United Kingdom.
“Some of the money was used to buy two Toyota Land Cruiser V8s,” the statement added.
The investigation shows that Sh34.5 million was used to buy a house in Loresho, Nairobi, whose beneficial owner is Evelyn Adhiambo Zachary.
The DPP added that directors of the firms, including three brothers, were proxies of Mr Obado.
The companies are Misoft Ltd, Tarchdog Printers, Deltrack ICT Services, Seletrack Consultants, Mactebac Contractors, Joyush Business, Swyfcon Engineering, Atinus Services, Kajulu Business, Victorious Investments, Dolphus Softwares, Dankey Press and Pesulus Services.
The governor’s proxies according to the EACC investigations are brothers Jared Peter Kwaga, Patroba Ochanda and Joram Opala.
