Probation officers are expected to file pre-sentence reports today on former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his two co-convicts, Michael Juma Oyamo and Caspal (Casper) Ojwang Obiero, as the High Court moves closer to determining their punishment for the murder of university student Sharon Otieno. The reports are expected to provide the court with information about the personal circumstances, conduct, and social backgrounds of the three convicts and assist Justice Cecilia Githua in determining an appropriate sentence. The court had also directed the preparation of victim impact reports following the trio’s conviction.
Obado, Oyamo and Obiero have remained in custody since July 23, when the High Court cancelled their bond terms following their conviction and ordered that they be remanded pending the sentencing process. The three were convicted of Sharon’s murder after Justice Cecilia Githua ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt following a lengthy trial that heard evidence from 52 witnesses.
The case dates back to September 2018, when Sharon Otieno, a 26-year-old Rongo University student who was about seven months pregnant, was abducted in an incident that also involved Nation Media Group journalist Barrack Oduor. Oduor managed to escape by jumping from a moving vehicle, but Sharon was later found dead in a thicket near Kodera Forest in Homa Bay County. Her killing triggered a major criminal investigation and became one of Kenya’s most closely watched murder cases.
Investigations and subsequent court proceedings centred on Sharon’s relationship with Obado and the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy. During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence seeking to establish that the pregnancy and the possibility that details of the relationship would become public provided a motive for the killing. In her judgment, Justice Githua found that Obado had been in an intimate relationship with Sharon and that the pregnancy became a significant factor in the chain of events that ultimately led to her death. The judge found that Obado had pressured Sharon to terminate the pregnancy and had sent her Sh30,000 for an abortion.
The court further found that Obado’s former personal assistant Oyamo and former Migori County clerk Obiero played different roles in the events surrounding Sharon’s killing. According to the judgment, Obado supplied the motive, instigation, and funds, while Oyamo facilitated the execution of the plan and Obiero provided logistical assistance and helped in efforts to conceal the crime. The prosecution case relied heavily on circumstantial evidence linking the three men to Sharon’s murder.
Justice Githua rejected the defence arguments that the evidence was insufficient and found that the prosecution had established the ingredients of murder, including malice aforethought. The judge also rejected Obado’s argument that his physical absence from the scene of the abduction and killing shielded him from criminal responsibility. The court held that his absence from the crime scene did not absolve him under the doctrine of common intention.
All three men had denied the murder allegations during the trial and maintained their innocence. However, after considering the prosecution and defence evidence, the court found them guilty. The conviction brought to an end nearly eight years of investigations and court proceedings over Sharon’s killing.
The pre-sentence reports now become an important part of the next phase of the case. The reports, together with the victim impact assessments, will give the court additional information before it determines the sentence to impose on each of the three convicts. Obado, Oyamo and Obiero are currently being held in custody after their bail terms were revoked following the conviction. The matter is expected to return before the High Court today for confirmation that the reports have been filed and to pave the way for sentencing.
The sentencing will mark another major chapter in a case that has remained in the public spotlight since Sharon Otieno’s death in 2018 and whose outcome has attracted widespread attention across the country.
