Former Migori Governor Okoth Obado Found Guilty in Sharon Otieno Murder Case

 By Christopher mbiti 

Nairobi Kenya|24 July 2026

Former Migori Governor Zacharia Okoth Obado has been found guilty of the 2018 murder of Rongo University student Sharon Otieno in a landmark judgment delivered by the High Court at the Milimani Law Courts on Thursday. Lady Justice Cecilia Githua ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, finding Obado and his two co-accused, former personal assistant Michael Oyamo and former Migori County Clerk Caspal Obiero, guilty of the murder.

The judgment brings to a close one of Kenya's longest-running and most closely watched criminal trials, nearly eight years after Sharon was abducted and later found murdered in a forest in Homa Bay County in September 2018. Sharon, who was about seven months pregnant at the time of her death, was carrying a child the prosecution said belonged to Obado.

In her judgment delivered on Thursday 23 July 2026, Justice Githua held that the prosecution presented a complete chain of circumstantial evidence linking the three accused persons to the murder. The court found that they acted together with a common intention to unlawfully kill Sharon. The judge further ruled that Obado had a strong motive to prevent his relationship with Sharon from becoming public. She dismissed his claim that he had accepted Sharon's pregnancy, saying evidence presented during the trial showed he had pressured her to terminate it. The court also found that financial support offered to Sharon was not genuine assistance but an attempt to persuade her to procure an abortion.

Justice Githua noted that although there were no eyewitnesses to the killing, the circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution was sufficient to establish the guilt of all three accused persons beyond reasonable doubt. The court concluded that the prosecution had successfully proved every essential element of the offence of murder.

Following the conviction, the court cancelled the bond terms that had allowed Obado to remain free during the trial. He was immediately taken into custody alongside Oyamo and Obiero as they await sentencing. The court is expected to hear mitigation from the defence before delivering the sentence.

Security was heightened at the Milimani Law Courts ahead of the ruling due to the high public interest in the case. Police officers were deployed within and around the court premises as journalists, lawyers, family members and members of the public gathered to witness the delivery of the judgment.

The Sharon Otieno murder case has remained one of Kenya's most prominent criminal proceedings, attracting nationwide attention because it involved a sitting governor at the time of the offence and the killing of a young university student whose death shocked the country. The conviction marks a significant milestone in the pursuit of justice for Sharon Otieno and her unborn child, with the case now entering the sentencing phase where the court will determine the punishment to be imposed on the three convicted men.

Ends.