Former Migori governor Okoth Obado has urged the High Court to acquit him in the murder of university student Sharon Otieno arguing that the prosecution’s case was built on speculations and rumours.
Appearing before the High Court on Friday, Mr Obado maintained that convictions in criminal cases cannot be founded on speculations, rumours, arm chair theories, hypothesis, imaginations, assumptions and suspicions.
He said a case must be proved with cogent, credible and unassailable evidence, proved to the required standard.
“The prosecution has miserably failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt or what is also known as moral certainty, that the 1st accused, in any manner whatsoever, participated in the killing of Sharon,” he said in submissions filed in court.
Mr Obado, his personal assistant Michael Oyamo and Mr Caspal Obiero have been charged with the killing of the former Rongo University student, an offence they allegedly committed on night of September 3 and 4, 2018, at Owade area in Rachuonyo, Homa Bay County.
Mr Obado maintained his innocence saying he and Sharon had amicably reached a consensus that he would take care of her welfare and that of the unborn baby.
“We urge the court to take this evidence with a pinch of salt. It is not credible evidence. It is manufactured. No professional investigator will take four years to establish whether or not CCTV cameras were working and storing images captured by the system,” he said.
He said that he agreed to purchase her a piece of land in Homa Bay and build a three-bedroom house for her and also undertook to furnish the house.
Ms Sharon Otieno who was killed in 2018.
Photo credit: Pool
“This understanding between the two was in place before the savage killing of Sharon. The 1st accused (Obado) had nothing to do with the beastly killing of Sharon. The prosecution did not produce an iota of evidence linking the 1st accused to the killing of Sharon,” his lawyer Kioko Kilukumi submitted.
Mr Obado further submitted that the police failed to apprehend the real killers and instead, plated a motor vehicle and its driver to establish a theory.
“We submit that the prosecution deliberately eliminated independent verifying evidence whether or not motor vehicle registration No *** was the motor vehicle that carried the killers. The mobile phone of the driver was through a false narrative “switched off” to avoid call data pin pointing the specific location at different times,” the defence team submitted.
The former Migori governor said no evidence was ever adduced to show that he knew of a meeting at a hotel in Rongo, where the killing was allegedly planned and that no evidence was adduced showing that he hired, procured or contracted the killers directly or indirectly.
Senior Counsel Kioko Kilukumi (left) and former Migori Governor Okoth Obado who is charged murdering Sharon Otieno at Milimani High Court on February 20, 2026.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation Media Group
The prosecution on its part submitted that Mr Obado was the ultimate beneficiary of the killing and the actions of offence. The prosecution said the actions of the three accused persons were complementary and directed toward silencing Sharon over her pregnancy.
“The evidence shows that Sharon Otieno’s pregnancy and engagement with XYZ (a protected witness) posed a real and imminent threat to the 1st accused’s public standing,” the prosecution submitted.
According to the prosecution, Sharon had already engaged the media and XYZ was actively pursuing the story and silencing the two directly served the interests of Mr Obado.
Meanwhile, the court directed Mr Oyamo to table in court medical evidence as proof for skipping yesterday’s session. It was alleged that Mr Oyamo was sick and failed to appear in court for the hearing.
The trial court, however, declined to issue a warrant of arrest against Mr Oyamo, as urged by the prosecution.
The case will be mentioned on March 18, 2026 for directions on the judgment date.
