Michael Oyamo, Caspal Obiero and former Migori Governor Okoth Obado in court during the delivery of judgment in the murder case of the late Sharon Otieno before Justice Cecilia Githua at Milimani High Court, Nairobi on July 23 /LEAH MUKANGAI
The High Court has found that former Migori Governor Okoth Obado's former personal assistant, Michael Oyamo, orchestrated the meeting at Graca Hotel that ultimately led to the abduction and murder of Sharon Otieno.
In a detailed judgement delivered on Thursday, Justice Cecilia Githua rejected Oyamo's defence as untruthful, finding that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that he convened the meeting under the guise of delivering money on behalf of Obado.
The judge noted that Oyamo, who admitted serving as Obado's personal assistant and bodyguard for about a decade, denied having prior knowledge of Sharon or the circumstances surrounding her death.
However, the court found that position to be inconsistent with the evidence presented during the trial.
Justice Githua found that testimony from prosecution witnesses, particularly PW9, established that Oyamo met Sharon and others at Graca Hotel after informing them that he had been sent by Obado to deliver money.
The court, however, held that the meeting was not genuinely intended to pass a message or hand over money.
Instead, the judge found that its true purpose was to hand Sharon over to the group of men who later abducted her before she was killed.
"It is immaterial whether the second accused (Oyamo) boarded the vehicle at Graca Hotel or elsewhere," Justice Githua held, noting that the evidence firmly placed Oyamo at the centre of the events that unfolded immediately before Sharon's abduction.
The court accepted PW9's account that unidentified men who met Oyamo near the hotel forcibly took Sharon before driving away with her.
Sharon was later found murdered, while journalist Barrack Oduor, who had been abducted alongside her, escaped by jumping from the moving vehicle.
Justice Githua further found that conversations between the abductors, Sharon, and PW9 about Sharon's relationship with Obado and the story involving the former governor demonstrated a clear connection between the events at the hotel and the wider circumstances surrounding the case.
Although Obado was not physically present at Graca Hotel, the judge found that he was aware of the meeting because, by Oyamo's own admission, he had instructed him to meet Sharon and deliver money.
The court also found that Oyamo deliberately concealed his identity by fraudulently acquiring an Airtel SIM card using another person's identification details, despite already owning a Safaricom line.
Justice Githua held that the Airtel line, which was obtained only days before Sharon's murder and used exclusively to communicate with her, was acquired to facilitate the commission of the offence while avoiding detection during subsequent investigations.
The judge further observed that, after assuming responsibility for handling matters concerning Sharon, Oyamo became the primary intermediary between her and Obado, delivering money, relaying messages, and instructing key witnesses to leave all issues relating to Sharon to him.
According to the court, the cumulative evidence placed Oyamo at the centre of the chain of events that culminated in Sharon's abduction and eventual murder.
