Migori governor Okoth Obado. (Image via The Standard Kenya)
Okoth Obado, the governor of Migori county in south-western Kenya, has been charged with the murder of his pregnant former girlfriend, Sharon Otieno.
Mr Obado was arrested on Friday and spent the weekend in custody. The married politician has pleaded not guilty.
At the end of the relationship in April this year, Otieno had revealed details of her affair with Obado to Barack Oduor, a journalist with Nation Media Group. Relations between her and the governor had purportedly broken down after she told him of the pregnancy. Speaking to the BBC last week, Obado’s lawyer Cliff Ombeta confirmed Obado’s relationship with Ms Otieno, saying he had initially been unsure of the child’s paternity.
On September 3, Otieno and Oduor were scheduled to meet with Obado’s personal assistant to get comment from him about the affair. Shortly after the meeting, Otieno and Oduor were allegedly abducted by two unknown assailants driving a Toyota Axio. Oduor managed to escape by jumping from the speeding vehicle but Otieno who was seven months pregnant, was not so lucky. Two days later, the married university student’s body was discovered in a forest. A post-mortem concluded she was the possible victim of a sexual attack and had sustained eight stab wounds in the neck, abdomen and back.
As more lurid details of the affair became public knowledge and police scrutiny began to focus on him, Obado made a public statement denying any involvement in Otieno’s murder saying to local media, “As a law-abiding citizen, I want to state here clearly and categorically that I have nothing and absolutely nothing to do with the cruel death of Sharon”.
Though he is is no stranger to controversy having been the subject of corruption allegations in the past, Obado is the first governor in Kenya to be charged with a capital offence. His bail application will be heard on Tuesday at 2pm.