The Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) has welcomed the news of the conviction of former Migori County governor Okoth Obado over the murder of Sharon Otieno.
The Milimani High Court found the former county boss guilty of the murder of her former lover after eight years since the then university student was murdered.
Speaking after the verdict on Thursday, July 23, 2026, FIDA Senior Legal Counsel Brenda Yambo said as a federation, they are happy.
“We are happy that finally justice has been served, and we say nobody is above the law,” Yambo said.
“This restores the dignity in terms of the court and the judicial system, in terms of free, fair and transparent and independent processes that have been finalised,” she said.
“To the family of Sharon, the victims, this has been a long journey. And we have been able to find that justice has come towards the end of it all and we are happy that we can be able to see that the family finally feels that justice has been served to them,” Yambo said.
“We give them time so that they can be able to grieve what has just happened and to process,” she said.
Encouragement for women
Yambo said the judgement affirmed that justice will eventually be served, especially for those who suffered or are suffering from gender-based violence.
“As access to justice still continues for all the women and girls who are undergoing gender-based violence, this is an affirmation that regardless of the gender-based violence that anyone goes through, justice will finally take place,” Yambo said.
Obado convicted
Obado was convicted by the Milimani High Court over the murder of Sharon Otieno.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, July 23, 2026, by Lady Justice Cecilia Githua, the court ruled that the prosecution, through evidence adduced, had proved Obado’s involvement in the killing of his former lover Sharon.
The court found Okoth Obado, Michael Oyamo, and Caspal Obiero guilty of murder.
According to Justice Githua, Obado had a strong motive to ensure that his illicit relationship with Sharon remained hidden from the public, thus making him a beneficiary of her death.
Obado and his co-accused were convicted based on circumstantial evidence, as the court noted that none of the 42 prosecution witnesses directly witnessed the killing.
“The first accused had a strong motive to ensure that his illicit relationship was not known by the public, thus making him a beneficiary of the death of the deceased,” Judge Githua ruled.
“It cannot be a mere coincidence that the first accused, in his defence, said he was not worried about the illicit relationship being known since it was known to his family and the public.
“It cannot be entirely true that the members of the public knew about his relationship with the deceased.”
The judge further held that the support offered by Obado after Sharon declined to terminate the pregnancy was not genuine.
The matter will be mentioned on August 18, 2026.
