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Obado plea deal stalls as EACC opposes withdrawal of corruption charges
Former Migori governor Okoth Obado in court.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has reiterated its opposition to the withdrawal of criminal charges against former Migori governor Okoth Obado and 10 others.
When they appeared before Principal Magistrate Charles Ondieki on September 30, the anti-graft body acknowledged receiving a plea agreement. But its lawyers told the court that they had been instructed to oppose it.
The magistrate urged the parties — the EACC, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the accused — to continue negotiating and reach an agreement on the underlying issues.
The matter will be mentioned on October 24 to confirm the progress of the negotiations and to receive further instructions.
Mr Obado and his children — Dan Achola Okoth, Susan Scarlet Akoth, Jerry Zachary and Evelyne Adhiambo — have been charged with conspiracy to commit economic crime and money laundering.
The others charged are Jared Peter Odoyo, Christine Akinyi Ochola, Joram Opala, Patroba Ochanda, Penina Auma and Carolyne Anyango, as well as their companies.
On September 5, the DPP and Mr Obado’s lawyers indicated that that the parties had been holding talks with a view to withdrawing the case.
However, the EACC rejected the deal, stating that the matter should proceed to a full trial.
The court then directed the DPP to serve the anti-graft agency with the plea agreement for signing before it is filed in court.
According to the DPP, the parties held four meetings to explore alternative dispute resolution.
The court heard that the plea agreement was necessitated by a deal entered into by the EACC and Mr Obado in June last year. This deal stipulated that eight properties and two vehicles would be forfeited in exchange for the dropping of two civil cases against the former governor and the other accused persons, as well as their companies.
Mr Obado’s lawyer, Kioko Kilukumi, said that the former governor had forfeited properties worth Sh235.6 million to the state. He said these assets were worth three times the amount sought by the EACC.
The forfeited properties included two cars, a house in Loresho, a commercial block in Suna East in Migori, two five-storey residential blocks with 40 units in Migori, two apartments and a maisonette in Greenspan in Nairobi, and a residential property in Kamagambo in Migori.
However, the anti-graft agency said stated that the civil matter, in which Mr Obado transferred ownership of the assets to the government, was not relevant to the current court case. It added that if the accused intended to use the consent to forfeit the assets as evidence, they can present it during the trial.
