Obado's claim that he accepted Sharon Otieno's pregnancy was not sincere; court rules

In her ruling on the high-profile murder case on Thursday, Lady Justice Cecilia Githua said that Obado's monetary offers to Sharon were not for supporting the unborn child but were to coerce her to abort.

"Obado's claim that he had accepted Sharon's pregnancy and was comfortable with it, which was demonstrated by financial support he offered, was, in my considered opinion not sincere," he said.

"Obado had put pressure on Sharon to abort the pregnancy and gave her Ksh.30k, which pressure Sharon declined to accept following her mom's advice. If indeed he was caring throughout the pregnancy as he alleged, my take is that he would not have distanced himself refuse to pick up his phone calls."

The High Court also found that the prosecution proved Sharon died as a result of an unlawful act.

Justice Githua said the fact of Sharon's death was not disputed and was proved through evidence presented by witnesses who recovered her body from the scene.

The judge further held that medical evidence established she died from multiple injuries inflicted on vital organs, including those that housed her unborn child.

"The prosecution has proved that Sharon's death was not caused by natural causes or as a result of an accident. I have no hesitation in finding that her death was unlawful," the judge ruled.

The court, however, observed that none of the 42 prosecution witnesses gave direct eyewitness testimony of the killing, noting that no witness actually saw Sharon being attacked.

Obado and his two co-accused, his former personal assistant Michael Oyamo and former Migori County clerk Caspal Obiero, are to know their fate nearly eight years after they were charged with Sharon's murder in 2018.