Data records from Safaricom have dispelled earlier reports that placed former Migori Governor Okoth Obado at the scene where late Rongo University student Sharon Otieno was found murdered.
An officer attached at Safaricom on Tuesday confirmed to the court that throughout the night of 2 September 2018 to 5 September 2018, Obado was in Nairobi.
The ex-county chief is among those on trial over Sharon’s murder and her unborn baby.
He has been charged alongside his personal Assistant Michael Oyamo and clerk Caspal Obiero over the murder that took place on September 3, 2018 in Homa Bay County.
Results of a DNA test conducted on the foetus conclusively showed that Obado was the father of Sharon’s unborn child.
Tuesday’s witness-Quinto Odek Etyang told Justice Cecilia Githua that on September 2, he received a letter from the investigating team requiring Safaricom to provide call data records of the accused persons, the deceased and witnesses under protection.
The period in question was from 01/08/2018-06/9/2018.
Also sought was their history location or geographical location and Mpesa statements
The data was to enable the team to piece together their movements and alleged involvement in the murder.
From the MPesa statements presented in court, one of the witnesses who was under protection made some payments to a paybill associated with Fly 540 Aviation Limited. The amount involved was Sh12,540.
He later transferred Sh5100 to the late Sharon's number. It was not said what the money was for.
The witness also mentioned that Sharon's number 0725,869141 was previously being used by a lady Identified as Naomi Hassan.
Asked when Naomi started and stopped using that line, the witness said he did not have that information.
He also could not tell at what point Sharon started using that line.
As he was being cross-examined by Senior Counsel Kioko Kilukumi, Qunto said that on 2nd September 2018 at 1650hrs, Obado was captured at Suswa, in Rift Valley.
At 1732hrs, he was captured by the cell tower at Mai mahiu.
At 1803hrs, he was at Sigona.
And still, on the same day at 1827hrs, he was captured at Lavington.
“I confirm that throughout the night of September 2, going to third, the subscriber spent his night at Lavington,” said the witness.
The situation was the same till September 5.
The witness further took the court through data records of one Jack Gombe, a taxi driver who allegedly ferried Sharon to ‘her death’.
From the evidence before the court, it showed that Gombe’s phone was on from 6 pm to 1130 pm on September 3 2018 contrary to what he had earlier told the court in his evidence.
Gombe had claimed that his phone was off and he had left it at a shop in Migori charging.
But the call data from Safaricom proved otherwise.
“This phone of Jack Gombe was constantly on the move being picked by different Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs). The subscriber was moving within Migori. At no time was it stationery in one place from the data available,” said the witness.
Hearing continues.
