Obado surrenders to EACC detectives in Sh73m graft probe

Migori Governor Okoth Obado on Wednesday morning surrendered to Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission detectives in Kisii.

The Governor - also a murder suspect following the killing of university student Sharon Ochieng two years ago - is facing graft accusations over misappropriation of Sh73 million from the county coffers.

The funds are said to have been channelled to the bank accounts of his three children who were studying abroad.

It was not immediately made clear if all the of the governor's children reported to the EACC 's regional office in Kisii as security barred journalists from entering the commission offices located along the Kisii-Kilgoris road.

Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji on Tuesday approved the arrest and prosecution of Obado and his three children, dealing a staggering blow to the family as the governor is separately battling murder charges.

Obado is likely to be barred from accessing office, a precedent that has already been set in other graft cases.

Also to be charged is Jared Kwaga — said to be Obado’s closest proxy in the siphoning of county cash. Kwaga, also roped in his own family — including his wife and mother. 

Also to be charged are directors of 11 companies that Obado and his associates registered soon after he became governor through which they pocketed millions of shillings in “fictitious” contracts.

“The investigations were in respect of Sh73.4 million being sums indirectly received by the governor Migori county through his children who received multiple payments from companies trading with the Migori county government between 2013-2017,” Haji said in a statement to newsrooms.

According to an audit trail by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the companies that were trading with the Migori county government wired Sh38.9 million to the accounts of Obado’s three children.

The money was used as their school fees, upkeep, maintenance and medical bills in Australia, Scotland and United Kingdom. 

The three children who will be charged alongside their father are Achola Dan Okoth, Susan Scarlet Okoth and Jerry Zachary Okoth.

Dan Okoth's lawyer was also barred from entering the EACC's offices on Wednesday.