Governor Obado to spend another night in custody

Migori Governor Okoth Obado will spend another night in police custody pending a ruling on whether police will be allowed more time to detain him.

Obado was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Joyce Gandani on Thursday morning after police recovered eight guns following a raid on his homes in Migori and Nairobi.

Led by Ms. Catherine Mwaniki, the prosecution sought orders to detain Obado for 15 days to allow them run conclusive investigations before preferring against him charges of possession of firearms and ammunition without valid certificates.

“We are asking for 15 days to allow the officers (including ballistics) to travel to his rural home to thoroughly investigate. We will need time to also find out if the firearms were used in any crimes which might lead to other charges,” argued Ms. Mwaniki.

The Magistrate directed Obado be detained at the Gigiri Police Station pending a ruling on the matter on Friday.

The governor, who spent Wednesday night at the Gigiri Police Station was arraigned under a miscellaneous application at the Kibra Law Courts.

Obado, through lawyer Rojers Sagana, however, told the court that the said firearms were not subject of dispute as they were verified.

The governor further argued that none of the pending investigations against him require his detention terming the application as punishment by public humiliation and embarrassment.

Detectives from EACC staged a five-hour long search in Obado’s homes, with documents that could aid in an ongoing investigation in the misappropriation of Ksh.2 billion county funds were obtained during the operation.

In the search operation, the detectives seized eight firearms among other items.