Former Migori County Governor Okoth Obado on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, told the court that he had agreed to build a home for the late Sharon Otieno in Homa Bay, estimated to cost Ksh3.5 million, including buying land.
During cross-examination by lawyer Victor Hezekiah Awuor, representing the victim’s family, he asked Obado whether the said amount was not too much for a baby mama, especially since he had not yet confirmed whether the child she was carrying was his.
In his response, Obado said that he had no problem with it, as he was in a position to afford it.
“My lady, I was comfortable with that because I could afford it,” Obado told the court.
In his defense, led by his lawyer Roger Sagana, Obado told the court that former Member of County Assembly, the late Lawrence Mula, who was PWD 28 in Sharon’s murder case, was his trusted middleman between him and Sharon.
Through the late Mula, Sharon had told him to ask Obado to buy her a house in Nairobi or Kisumu—a proposal the former governor strongly discouraged.
He instead proposed that it would be better for Sharon to have a house in Homa Bay, suggesting that he would buy land and build her a three-bedroom house.
However, upon conveying Obado’s proposal to Sharon, Mula got back to him and said Sharon was not comfortable with a house in Homa Bay. She stood her ground, insisting on a house in Nairobi or Kisumu.
“Mula told me that Sharon was not comfortable with that; she insisted on being bought a house in Nairobi or Kisumu,” Obado told the court.
Later, Sharon proposed to be bought a 50 by 100 plot in Homa Bay town, which Obado still opposed, insisting on buying land in a rural setting, citing that it would be cheaper than in town.
Obado told the court that he first met the former MCA, the late Lawrence Mula, at his rural home in Rapogi, Uriri Sub-County, after the Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi called him, informing him that there was a media guy who wanted to talk to him.
Afterwards, Mbadi sent him the contact for the media guy—referred to as XYZ because he is a protected witness. Obado called him and gave him an appointment, but the media guy turned up with another person, who was later revealed to be Lawrence Mula.
On the appointment day, Obado arrived home late after XYZ had already arrived. He joined them later after work, where they shared dinner together with other visitors who had come to his home.
“My lady, when I came from work, I went to the main house and found other visitors and we had dinner together. My wife was also present. After dinner, I asked my wife to take XYZ and Mula to my mini lounge, which served as my boardroom,” Obado told the court.
He cleared with the other guests and joined XYZ, Mula, and his wife in the boardroom to understand the purpose of the visit. There, he was introduced to the media guy who wanted to speak with him privately.
“After clearing with the other guests, I joined them in the boardroom and found my wife, XYZ, and Mula conversing freely. After the introduction, my wife stepped out to the kitchen to prepare us some tea,” Obado told the court.
XYZ then told him that he had a lot of information about his affair with a lady named Sharon, which he wanted to confirm was true.
XYZ explained how he had been approached by the late Mula to cover the story. He then asked Obado if he could go ahead and publish it, and Obado gave him the nod.
However, the late Mula interjected and advised that it would not be wise for XYZ to publish the story, stating that they had come to discuss Sharon’s welfare.
“My lady, according to XYZ, he was suggesting to publish what he had, but Mula objected. I thanked them for handling the issue with maturity,” Obado told the court.
He told the court that he was not worried about the publication of the story by XYZ, because Sharon had already approached other media people and shared finer details of their affair, which XYZ did not have.
After their meeting, he liked how Mula handled the issue maturely, and they agreed that Mula would be handling Sharon’s welfare on his behalf.
Obado revealed to the court that he traveled from his rural home to Nairobi on Sunday, September 2, 2018, with his driver, bodyguard, wife, and one of her daughters.
Upon reaching Nairobi around 9 p.m., he rested until the following day, September 3, 2018. At 10 a.m., he left the house to meet a lawyer friend in Lavington. They spent time together until around 3 p.m. when they went for a late lunch at Lavington Mall.
After lunch, Obado remembered that he had an appointment with Ida Odinga, wife of the former Prime Minister, and called her to confirm the meeting.
Later, he parted ways with his friend and arrived at Ida Odinga’s home in Karen at around 5 p.m.
He told the court that Ida had called for the meeting to discuss the political path he had taken, which was seen as going against their party.
He left Ida’s home in Karen after the 7 p.m. news, around 8 p.m., and returned to his house in Lavington.
However, the court was informed that the Investigating Officer (IO), Nicholas Ole Sena, stated that Obado’s phone was tracked in a bushy area in Homa Bay County—where Sharon was killed—on the evening of September 3, 2018. Obado, however, claimed he was in Nairobi County.
“I want to confirm to this court that when I was entering Raila’s home, I was checked. After leaving Karen, I went back to my house and slept,” Obado told the court.
Notably, he told the court that when he woke up the following day, September 4, 2018, and switched on his phone, he found several missed calls from his Director of Communications, Nicholas Anyur.
He returned the call and was informed about something being announced on radio concerning the abduction of his Personal Assistant (PA), Michael Oyamo, and Sharon.
Later, he also received a call from the then Migori County Police Commander, asking whether he had heard about the abduction of his PA and Sharon.
Obado stated that after the calls, he contacted his County Secretary, Christopher Lusanya, to try and locate the two. Lusanya later got back to him and informed him that he had located the PA—now the second accused in Sharon’s murder case—at a police station.
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