Then Migori governor Okoth Obado disembarks from a prison bus at Milimani Law Courts on October 24, 2018.
Inmates had eaten all the ugali and beans prepared for supper at Industrial Area Remand Prison by the time former Migori governor Okoth Obado, Michael Oyamo and Caspal Obiero were ushered in on Thursday evening.
Much like their legal luck, the culinary gods had no smile to offer Obado, Oyamo and Obiero as they missed the first of at least 20 supper meals they are to have at Industrial Area Prison.
Their bellies were sustained by the fruit salad and soda they had taken before leaving Milimani Law Courts at 5.30pm.
For that night, the three shared a cell with former Nairobi Central police station boss Samson Talaam, who is accused of killing blogger Albert Ojwang last year.
They were given mattresses, beds and blankets before being booked into a cell. Fate came into play as Obado became a beneficiary of his generosity.
Sharon Otieno murder convicts Michael Oyamo, Caspal Obiero and ex-Migori Governor Okoth Obado in the dock on July 23, 2026.
A TV he donated to the prison was installed in the cell that he, Oyamo and Obiero slept in. The same cell once hosted Sirisia MP John Waluke and former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu, both of whom appealed their convictions for fraud.
Obado, Oyamo and Obiero spent time in the same cell in 2018 when they were arrested in connection with the killing of Sharon Otieno.
The suits, official motorcades and political meetings will give way to prison uniforms, regimented routines, headcounts and nights in a ward shared with up to 60 other inmates.
Once sentenced, a convict is formally handed over to the Kenya Prisons Service.
The first stop is admission, where belongings such as clothes, shoes, cash, phones, watches and jewellery are surrendered, inventoried and stored in the property office. They remain there until the inmate is freed.
“The first thing is a medical check-up, whose results inform which section one is to be allocated. The prisoner is then given two pairs of uniforms,” a prison officer said yesterday.
The inmate is then assigned accommodation, based on a security and risk assessment and not social status.
“Famous prisoners should not be treated differently from others. However, those highly vulnerable, such as the very old or sickly, are kept away from extreme cold and dusty areas. Those who are muscular or violent are kept in areas with more wardens,” he said.
Former Migori Governor Zachary Okoth Obado is escorted out of the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on July 23, 2026, after being found guilty of the 2018 murder of Sharon Otieno. Lady Justice Cecilia Githua delivered the verdict at the Criminal Division of the High Court, where Obado and his former aides, Michael Oyamo and Caspal Obiero, were found guilty.
Privacy is virtually non-existent though there are exceptions. Violent offenders, those with severe mental illness or those requiring protective custody may be held in separate rooms or in solitary confinement. Ironically, some inmates deliberately commit offences in the hope of being referred to solitary confinement.
The day begins with a headcount at 6am. Inmates squat in a line. There is another headcount every 45 minutes or when the warden requests it.
Breakfast is a cup of porridge lightly sweetened. After the first meal of the day around 6.30am, every section holds the “inmates’ parliament”, presided over by a senior sergeant. It gives inmates a chance to raise welfare concerns.
There is another headcount after this session, before inmates are assigned duties in the kitchens, workshops, farms, maintenance or cleaning.
The prisoners go for lunch at 11.30am, which is usually rice and beans, ugali and beans, ugali and vegetables, ugali and beef, githeri or potatoes. There is another headcount before the noon lock-up during which guards change shifts.
“The purpose is to ensure everyone who left the ward in the morning has returned or been accounted for. Those away for treatment or authorised duties are recorded separately,” he said.
Afternoons are largely devoted to work, cleaning and rehabilitation programmes. Some report back to prison industries or workshops, while others clean their living areas or take part in sports, playing musical instruments or other controlled entertainment activities.
At around 3pm or 3.30pm, inmates are served their final meal of the day, then allowed to return to their respective wards. As evening approaches, prison officers conduct yet another roll call as they prepare to hand over prisoners to the evening shift, and for the final lockup.
By 6pm, ward doors are locked, ending all inmate movement until the following morning. Inside the wards, conversations continue quietly as inmates prepare for another night on thin mattresses laid side by side.
For those serving lengthy sentences, the evening lock-up marks not just the end of another day, but another day crossed off a sentence measured in years, or even decades.
Family visits remain an important part of prison life, and according to the officer, there is generally no limit on how often relatives may visit.
"They can even come every day," he said. But every visit is closely monitored and lasts a maximum of 10 minutes. Prisoners can make phone calls to their family and friends through the common Welfare phone, but the conversations must be had in either English or Kiswahili.
"We listen in because we need to know who inmates are talking to and what they are discussing, so mother tongue is discouraged."
Money is also tightly controlled. Visitors cannot hand cash directly to inmates. Instead, any money deposited is received by the prison welfare office and credited to the inmate's account.
"Whether it's Sh1,000 or Sh100,000, it goes through welfare. Prisoners may then go to the canteen and order for items they want, and the wardens will deduct the amount spent from the prisoners’ account. "
The first days behind bars can be psychologically overwhelming, as many new inmates struggle to accept the reality of imprisonment.
"When someone first comes to prison, many are in denial," the officer said.
To help them adjust, prisons provide counselling through welfare officers and trained peer counsellors. "It's about helping them absorb the shock."
Counselling is not limited to religious support. It also focuses on emotional adjustment and mental wellbeing.
Contrary to popular perception, prison is not completely cut off from current affairs. Many prisons have televisions, allowing inmates to follow national news. Daily newspapers, however, are not available due to the cost involved.
"You can't realistically expect prisoners to buy newspapers every day."
If an inmate develops a medical condition, treatment begins within the prison infirmary. Where necessary, prisoners are referred to hospitals such as Kenyatta National Hospital or Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital. Medical referrals remain the responsibility of the prison authorities.
Appeals and life after conviction
A prison sentence does not necessarily end a legal battle. Following sentencing, a convicted person has 14 days to lodge an appeal. The appellate court may uphold the conviction, reduce the sentence, increase it or overturn it altogether.
One of the biggest questions likely to arise in Obado's case is whether his former status as governor will influence his treatment. Officially, the answer is no.
The Kenya Prisons Service says inmates are classified according to security risk rather than wealth or political influence. But the officer acknowledged—strictly off the record—that influential inmates sometimes have greater access to resources through their families, particularly where specialised medical care, sleeping conditions or diet is involved. Such privileges, however, are not part of official prison policy.
Perhaps the greatest adjustment for any newly convicted prisoner is not the food, the accommodation or the repeated headcounts. It is learning to live according to someone else's clock.
Every hour is scheduled, every movement monitored, every visitor recorded and every inmate is counted several times a day.
For a man who once controlled county budgets worth billions of shillings and commanded a convoy of government vehicles, prison would represent a dramatic reversal of fortune.
Whether Okoth Obado ultimately serves a lengthy sentence will depend on the court and any subsequent appeal. But now that he has entered Kenya's prison system, his days are likely to resemble those of thousands of other inmates: Waking before dawn, lining up for counts, eating simple meals, performing assigned duties and returning each evening to a crowded ward where, regardless of who they once were outside the prison gates, everyone answers to the same routine.
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Reported by Celestine Olilo, Richard Munguti and Kamore Maina
