Obado murder trial expected to begin today

The trial of Migori Governor Okoth Obado who was charged with the murder of Sharon Otieno, a university student, is expected to begin on Tuesday.

Obado was charged alongside two others; Michael Oyamo, his personal assistant and Caspal Obiero, a county clerk.

The Governor was released on a Ksh.5 million cash bail in October last year and bail terms restricting his movement reviewed.

However, Justice Jessie Lessit declined to grant a similar request to the other two accused persons.

Oyamo and Obiero have since filed an application seeking to have the presiding judge recuse herself.

They claim that they will not be accorded a fair trial if Justice Lessit oversees the case as she declined their request for bail/bond.

The two were in remand prison until December 2018 when they filed an appeal at the Appellate Court and were released on bond.

Oyamo and Obiero have further accused the judge of making prejudicial remarks, a move they claim negated the presumption of innocence accorded to them in the constitution.

26-year-old Sharon Otieno went missing on September 3 last year after a meeting with a Nation journalist in Migori.

She was found dead two days later near Kodera Forest in Homa Bay County.

The student, who Governor Obado later revealed had been in a relationship with him, was seven months pregnant at the time of her murder.