The accussed Michael Oyamo, Caspal Obiero and former Migori governor Okoth Obado at the Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi on July 23, 2026/LEAH MUKANGAI
Former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his co-accused, Michael Oyamo and Caspal Obiero, have been found guilty of the murder of university student Sharon Otieno.
This has brought an end to one of Kenya's most high-profile criminal trials.
Reading the judgement on Thursday, the judge held that the evidence presented by the prosecution sufficiently linked Obado, Oyamo and Obiero to the killing.
"It is therefore my finding that the prosecution has proved its case against the first, second and third accused persons beyond reasonable doubt. I consequently find each accused guilty of the offence of murder. Each accused is accordingly convicted," Justice Githua ruled.
The case stems from the September 2018 murder of Sharon, a 26-year-old Rongo University student who was about seven months pregnant at the time of her death.
Her body was found in a thicket near Kodera Forest in Homa Bay County after she was allegedly abducted alongside Nation Media Group journalist Barrack Oduor, who escaped by jumping from the moving vehicle.
The conviction follows nearly eight years of investigations and court proceedings stemming from Sharon's killing in September 2018.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution relied largely on circumstantial evidence, calling 42 witnesses in an attempt to demonstrate that the three accused persons jointly participated in the events that culminated in Sharon's abduction and murder.
In her judgment, Justice Githua found that the prosecution had established an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence linking the accused persons to the offence.
The court rejected Obado's claim that he had accepted Sharon's pregnancy, finding instead that the evidence presented during the trial showed he had exerted pressure on her to terminate it.
"On the first accused's (Obado) own admission, he learned about Sharon's pregnancy in March 2018, and this is the same time he claims to have terminated, or decided to terminate, his relationship with the late Sharon," she observed.
The judge held that the pregnancy became the basis of the events that eventually led to Sharon's unlawful death.
Justice Githua also found that Obado had a strong motive to ensure details of his relationship with Sharon did not become public, concluding that he stood to suffer reputational damage and political embarrassment if the affair was widely publicised.
The court further found that Obado enlisted the assistance of his trusted aides, Oyamo and Obiero, to manage matters relating to Sharon.
Regarding Oyamo, the judge found that he orchestrated the meeting at Graca Hotel under the pretext of delivering money on Obado's behalf.
According to the court, the meeting was, in fact, intended to hand Sharon over to the men who later abducted and murdered her.
Justice Githua also held that Oyamo fraudulently acquired an Airtel SIM card using another person's identification details shortly before the murder.
The court found that the line was used exclusively to communicate with Sharon and had been obtained to facilitate the commission of the offence while avoiding detection.
Regarding Obiero, the court found that the prosecution had proved his participation in the events surrounding Sharon's abduction and killing through the evidence presented during the trial.
Sharon, who was about seven months pregnant at the time of her death, was abducted alongside Nation Media Group journalist Barrack Oduor after leaving Graca Hotel in Rongo on September 3, 2018.
Oduor escaped by jumping from the moving vehicle, while Sharon's body was later discovered near Kodera Forest in Homa Bay County with multiple stab wounds.
Obado, Oyamo, and Obiero had all denied the murder charge throughout the trial, with the defence urging the court to find that the prosecution's circumstantial evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction.
However, after analysing the evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defence, Justice Githua concluded that the prosecution had met the legal threshold required to secure a conviction, finding all three accused persons guilty of Sharon Otieno's murder.
