The Anti-Corruption Court will today issue directions following the lapse of a 14-day consultation period between the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) over the contested plea deal in former Migori Governor Okoth Obado’s Sh505 million graft case.
The court had, on October 24, directed the DPP to consult with the EACC after it sought to withdraw the corruption case.
The directive came after the EACC, at the time, opposed the DPP’s application to terminate the prosecution, insisting that any withdrawal must be grounded in law and serve the public interest.
Obado was charged in 2020 alongside his children and business associates with misappropriation of Sh73.4 million from the county government of Migori through corrupt dealings.
However, the former governor entered a plea bargain deal with the Director of Public Prosecutions, agreeing to forfeit assets worth Sh235 million, more than three times the amount allegedly misappropriated.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission rejected the deal, instead preferring that Obado’s case undergo a full trial.
Trial magistrate Charles Ondieki had allowed the parties to pursue the plea-bargain deal, saying the court was agreeable to any form of alternative justice.
When the matter came up in court for directions, the EACC, through lawyer M Ng’ang’a, told the court that the commission had been served with the details of the plea-bargain agreement but had rejected it.
All other parties, including the accused and the Director of Public Prosecutions, have agreed to the plea-bargain deal.
In his ruling, Magistrate Ondieki directed the parties to further discuss the thorny issues in the deal so the matter can be concluded.
He directed the parties to further negotiate so as to reach an agreement, saying the talks will give them flexibility and informality that is not present in normal court processes.
Obado was charged alongside 17 other co-accused, including his children and business accomplices.
They were charged with 25 counts, including conspiracy to commit an economic crime, conflict of interest, money laundering, and unlawful acquisition of public property.
As part of the agreement, the accused agreed to forfeit assets valued at over three times the allegedly stolen amount.
These include real estate properties and vehicles.
Notably, the EACC recently announced the successful sale of five prime properties recovered from former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and former Nairobi County Treasury Head Stephen Ogaga Osiro.
The auction, held on Thursday, October 9, 2025, at the Commission’s headquarters in Nairobi, marked another significant milestone in Kenya’s ongoing fight against corruption and the recovery of public assets acquired through economic crimes.
In a statement released by the Commission, the Head of Corporate Affairs and Communication, Stephen Karuga, confirmed that the public auction yielded a total of Sh69,705,000.
