Okoth Obado stay in remand extended

Governor Okoth Obado in court

Obado to experience more sleepless nights with loss of appetite and poor health after the introduction of a new plea to face two counts of murder.

The court allowed the prosecutor to amend the charge sheet to include murder of Sharon Otieno’s unborn baby

Appearing at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on October 8, the three accused persons pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder of Sharon and her unborn baby. Judge Jessie Lessit consequently directed that the three return to court on Friday, October 12, for their bail hearing.

Obado, who was taken ill and admitted to Kenyatta National Hospital on Wednesday, October 3, filed a new bail application through his lawyers pleading with the court to free him citing his frail health as sufficient reason not to continue holding him in remand. The governor filed the new bail application on Friday, October 5.

In the application, he explained to the court he suffers from severe back pain occasioned by a condition known as nerve compression with disc lesion on his spine which he was diagnosed with in 2013.

Defence lawyer Nicholas Ombija urged the court to consider Obado’s poor health and release him on bail. Obado  was remanded at Industrial Area Prison, Nairobi, but is now hospitalized at  at the Kenyatta National Hospital. The governor has been in remand for two weeks. He was rushed to the  hospital after he fell sick at the remand prison after complaining of stomach pains. The facility doctor who observed him approved his transfer to KNH. Obado has been in police custody since September 22 when his bail application was cancelled.

The prosecutor has been pushing the accused persons to be denied bail arguing they were likely to interfere with witnesses, owing to their positions and influence in Migori County. “Everybody knows that any accused person is innocent until proven guilty, but presumption of innocence does not mean one cannot commit an offense at will. Article 49 does not state that the right to bond or bail is an absolute right,” the prosecutor argued.

Lawyers of the accused persons, among them Cliff Ombeta, on their part argued their clients were capable of attending their trials and therefore there was no need to continue holding them against their rights. “Article 50 of the Constitution is very clear. The presumption of innocence also helps us to prepare for the case and for my client to prepare for his trial with free mind and be able to consult his lawyers,” Ombeta argued on behalf of the first accused.

Lessit previously pointed out the arguments from both the prosecutor and the defendants were not sufficient to determine whether to grant or deny the accused persons bail. The judge said the court could only be able to determine the bail applications once all the witness statements and evidence are availed.

Judge Jessie Lessit ruled the governor and two other accused persons be returned to remand until October 12, 2018.

The decision was arrived at after court agreed to consolidate Obado’s case with that of Michael Oyamo and Caspal Obiero All the three accused persons took fresh pleas and once again denied killing Sharon Otieno and her unborn baby.

Raila who was leading his ODM brigade in Migori senatorial by-election campaigns on Thursday, October 4, strongly condemned the killing of Sharon and her unborn baby, terming it a serious taboo in the Luo community.

“We are yet to know who killed Sharon. The Constitution says one is innocent until proven guilty through due process. Those who are held are just suspects, they will help the police identify the killers and their motive,” he added.

 

 

 

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