Sharon, unborn son ‘forgotten’ as Obado case drags on in court

It is a year and four months since the body of Rongo University student Sharon Otieno was found in a thicket near Oyugis.

While the macabre killing of the student and her unborn baby left Kenyans in shock, the murder case is still dragging on in court.

And the public outrage has dissipated.

The political drama, posturing and opportunistic promises disappeared with the lowering of Sharon's and her son’s coffins into their graves.

On September 4 this year, Sharon's family commemorated the deaths in a low key event.

The commemoration attracted only a handful of neighbours, friends and relatives.

Kenyans are fast at forgetting. However, families affected by such tragedies usually bear the brunt of pain and grief.

Top politicians capitalised on the killings to appear on TV, radio and newspaper headlines.

When her body was found and Migori Governor Okoth Obado and some of his aides were mentioned as the prime suspects, the issue suddenly became political ammunition.

Leaders shed crocodile tears, demanding “the immediate arrest and prosecution of the killers of Sharon and her son”.

Contacted recently, some of those who were loud at the time of the gruesome find said the ongoing case bars them from commenting on the matter, lest they are changed with contempt of court.

But does that mean it also stops them from attending the murder anniversary?

During the one year anniversary of the deaths, no politician called for speedy conclusion of the case facing Mr Obado.

Sharon’s parents, Mr Douglas Otieno and Ms Melida Auma, said they believe they have been abandoned “by the loudest noise-makers” at their most critical time.

They said they expected politicians and other leaders to push for justice for their daughter and their unborn grandson.

The distraught family complained of being abandoned. The politicians, they said, should not take advantage of calamities to give pledges they cannot fulfil.

“All we want is justice for Sharon and our grandson son,” Mr Otieno told the Nation.

He and his wife pleaded with the Judiciary to speed up the case against the accused.

“Finding someone guilty will give us some closure. We’ve lived with the grief and pain for more than a year. It’s not an experience any parent should go through,” he said.

The grieving parents said they have confidence that individuals will be found guilty of the killings and punished.

Sharon’s killing happened during the Migori Senate seat by-election campaigns.

The Orange Democratic Movement brigade used the killings as its campaign arsenal against Governor Obado’s group, which supported Jubilee candidate Eddy Oketch, while Mr Ochillo Ayacko carried the ODM flag.

ODM party leader Raila Odinga also used the murders to campaign for Mr Ayacko. He condemned the slaying of the university student, describing the killers as “witches”.

A postmortem indicated that Sharon was stabbed in the belly and that the weapon killed her and the unborn son.

Days after the killing, Governor Obado admitted that Sharon was his girlfriend.

Detectives and government scientists confirmed that the baby Sharon was carrying was, indeed, Governor Obado’s.

“The chances of Zackary Okoth Obado being the biological father of the child are 99.99 per cent,” the DNA report made public later said. “He is the donor of the DNA generated from the foetus, that is Sharon Belyne Otieno’s child.”

The High Court in Nairobi released the county boss on a Sh5 million bail.

Obado’s co-accused, who are also his confidants, are Mr Michael Oyamo and Mr Caspal Obiero.

Sharon’s parents, relatives, friends, neighbours and Rongo University students and staff called on politicians and other leaders to honour their pledge in supporting her children.

“We thank the media for their support by continuously highlighting what has been taking place,” Ms Auma said during the anniversary of the killings. “Our family will forever remain grateful.”