The silence in Milimani Law Courts was heavy on Wednesday as former Migori Governor Okoth Obado took to the stand, not just to defend himself but to finally lay bare what he called “a deeply personal and misunderstood chapter” of his life.
“I did not kill Sharon Otieno. I did not conspire to kill Sharon,” he declared, his voice steady but visibly emotional before Justice Cecilia Githua.
And with that, a door opened into a tangled web of politics, personal mistakes, betrayal, and loss that has haunted the national consciousness since 2018.
Sharon Otieno, a 26-year-old Rongo University student who was seven months pregnant, was found murdered in the quiet desolation of Kodera Forest.
Her unborn child, fathered by Obado, died with her, a tragic ending that sparked outrage and intrigue across the country.
Obado meticulously narrated his whereabouts during the days leading up to and after Sharon’s death.
“On September 1, 2018, which was a Saturday, I was in church the whole day because we had a function near my home,” he said.
“On September 2, a Sunday, I spent the morning receiving visitors, and by noon, I left for Nairobi with my driver, bodyguard, wife, and one of my youngest daughters. We arrived in Nairobi around 9 p.m. and spent the night at my Lavington residence.”
Then came September 3, the day Sharon disappeared.
“At around 10 a.m., I left the house and went to meet friends at Lavington Mall, including lawyer Evans Ondieki. After a late lunch, I remembered I had to see Mama Ida Odinga,” he said, referring to the wife of ODM leader Raila Odinga.
“She said she had just gotten back to Nairobi. I went to her Karen home around 5 p.m. and left after the 7 p.m. news.”
Obado responded to allegations that his phone was traced near the murder scene with a firm denial.
“My lady, I want to confirm to this honorable court that I was checked upon entry at Raila’s home and after leaving Karen, I went straight back to my house and slept.”
He admitted the affair with Sharon without hesitation.
“The relationship between Sharon and I was an open secret. Staff within the Migori County Government were aware of the affair,” he stated, adding that his wife discovered the affair in May 2018 during a devolution conference in Kisumu.
“She called me around 11 p.m. that night asking if I was at the Acacia Hotel or where Sharon had allegedly been booked.”
Caught in the storm, Obado eventually confessed to his wife.
“I decided to open up that I truly had an affair with Sharon, and I offered my apology. I will not state the exact words I used.”
Her response?
“She told me, mockingly, to bring Sharon home to live with us,” he said.
Obado painted a picture of a family swept up in controversy.
His son Dan, he said, had known about Sharon even before his wife did.
“I called Dan and asked him to inform his siblings. Fortunately, he already knew about Sharon,” he testified, recounting a graduation trip abroad in June 2018.
“Dan said they knew each other through social media. Sharon told Dan she was carrying his brother and even sent him baby bump photos.”
The former governor said Sharon had made material demands , houses in Kisumu and Nairobi and threatened to expose him if he didn’t comply.
“She wanted houses in Nairobi and Kisumu,” Obado explained.
“That’s when former MCA Lawrence Mula and a journalist, I’ll call him XYZ , came to my rural home in Rapogi.”
Introduced by a politician know as Hon. Mbadi, XYZ, he said, threatened to publish damning information.
“XYZ showed me messages and photos. He asked if he could publish them. I said yes, but Mula objected.”
Obado gave them Sh30,000 “Sh10,000 for a taxi, and the rest to be shared.”
He also recounted a later meeting at Heron Court Hotel in Nairobi to discuss Sharon’s demand for a house.
“I discouraged the Nairobi and Kisumu proposal. I told Mula it would be better to get land in Homa Bay and build a Sh3 million three-bedroom house.”
Obado said he even involved his wife financially in the discussions.
“She gave me Sh30,000 when I asked for Sh50,000 during one of the meetings with XYZ and Mula.
Despite the bitter fallout, Obado said he wanted to take responsibility.
“Mula told me about Sharon’s desire to move out of her mother’s home. I was okay with it. I gave her money for an insurance policy. And I told my wife I would be responsible for the child.”
As the courtroom fell into an uneasy hush, Obado’s words lingered.
“In my heart, I saw Mula as a mature guy, and we agreed to handle Sharon’s welfare through him.”
Whether this narrative of emotional entanglement, family turmoil, and political fallout clears his name or deepens the mystery, only time and the court will tell.
The trial resumes on Thursday, with more witnesses expected to testify in what remains one of the most sensational murder trials in country’s’s recent memory.
