Obado's legal battle continues as court finds he has case to answer in Sharon's murder
Through his lawyers, Obado explained that he had an open relationship with Sharon Otieno and was willing to support her and their unborn child.
A court has ruled that former Migori governor Okoth Obado has a case to answer over the murder of Sharon Otieno, a Rongo University student who was tragically killed in 2018.
Also placed on their defence are Obado's personal assistant Michael Oyamo and former county employee Caspal Obiero.
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Justice Cecilia Githua on Thursday ruled that the prosecution had provided sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case, meaning there is enough to warrant a defence from the three accused.
However, the trio was cleared of the charge related to the death of Sharon's unborn child. At the time of the murder, Sharon was 28 weeks pregnant.
The judge agreed with the defence’s argument based on the "born alive" principle, which states that a person can only be charged with murder in relation to a child if the child is born alive.
"I have considered these submissions and I'm in agreement that indeed, the evidence adduced by the prosecution in support of Sharon’s baby doesn't support the charge of murder," Judge Githua said.
Open relationship
On November 8, 2024, all parties in the case made their final submissions. Obado argued that the prosecution had failed to present a strong case against him.
Through his lawyers, Kioko Kilukumi and Rodger Sagana, Obado explained that he had an open relationship with Sharon Otieno and was willing to support her and their unborn child.
The defence also argued that there is no legal basis to charge someone with murder in relation to a foetus, saying that murder charges only apply to someone who has been born alive.
They asked the court to acquit them, claiming that prosecution witnesses had given false testimony.
Oyamo and Obiero were represented by their own lawyers. Their defence argued that the evidence provided by the prosecution was not enough to support a conviction.
The lawyer representing Oyamo challenged the claims of some witnesses, saying, "It is not feasible for someone to jump out of a moving vehicle into oncoming traffic and only sustain bruises."
He pointed out that such an accident would most likely cause serious injuries or even death.
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