“Between the 27th and 29th of August, he called us using an Airtel line, informing us that in future we should communicate with him using that line. However, he provided different reasons for that instruction.”
These were the words of the journalist who testified as a protected witness in the murder case of second-year Rongo University student Sharon Otieno. He described how governor’s personal assistant handled most of his affairs.
Michael Oyamo, Obado’s personal assistant, was found guilty of murder along with the former governor and Caspal Obiero, the former Migori County clerk, after the court established that the prosecution had proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to the journalist, he met Sharon on the 25th of July after Lawrence Oware, a mutual friend organized a meeting between him and Sharon at a hotel in Homa Bay.
Sharon shared personal details and confided that she was in an intimate relationship with the governor. She explained that he had abandoned her after impregnating her and that she was seven months pregnant and facing financial hardship.
She sought the journalist’s help to publish her story, hoping it would prompt Obado to reach out. The journalist recalled taking photographs of the deceased, screenshots of WhatsApp conversations between her and Obado, and two audio recordings of her conversations with him.
In the first audio, Obado pleaded with her to stop posting photos of hotels they had visited especially on Facebook and in the second, he urged her to abort the pregnancy.
A few days later, the journalist reached out to Obado through a mutual friend to hear his side before acting on Sharon’s request. Obado then called him and during their conversation, he invited the journalist and Oware to his home.
They both accepted and visited his home that same evening. After sharing a meal, they discussed Sharon’s case. During the meeting, Obado admitted knowledge of Sharon’s pregnancy but complained that her expectations of him were unrealistic, demanding a vehicle, a house in Nairobi, and a good job.
However, after the discussion, Obado advised them that any future communication related to Sharon’s pregnancy should be channeled through Michael Oyamo, his personal assistant.
According to the journalist, at the end of the visit, as Obado was leaving to fly out, he instructed him not to tell anyone about Sharon’s pregnancy. Oyamo also called the journalist a few days later, notifying him that Sharon’s matter would be resolved.
About a week after their meeting in Homa Bay, PW28 (the witness) met the first accused alone at Serena Hotel and later at Heron Hotel, both in Nairobi. Oware shared with Obado information received from Sharon that she required between 20 to 25 million shillings to buy a house in Nairobi or Kisumu, a good vehicle, and money for her upkeep.
Obado countered with a proposal to buy her a plot in Homa Bay and construct a three-bedroom house for her. Oware was asked to share this counter-proposal with Sharon and return feedback.
Following this, Sharon accepted the first accused’s proposal, and when Oware relayed this to Obado, he promised to provide the money needed for the plot and house by the end of August 2018.On August 23rd, 2018, the journalist recalls receiving a call from Sharon, informing him that Obado and Oyamo wanted to meet her again in Nairobi.
The journalist confirmed this with Oyamo, who confirmed that Obado would cover their transportation costs.
That night on the 23rd into the 24th of August 2018, the journalist received KSh 22,000 via M-Pesa from a lady identified as Veronica Wangeshi, who testified that she was on duty at the Hotel, when a man she couldn’t identify asked her to transfer KSh 22,210 to PW9’s mobile number, claiming he didn’t have a Safaricom line.
In his defense, Oyamo admitted having sent the money through Wangeshi, confirming it was to facilitate Sharon’s and his own flight to Nairobi that day.
Upon arrival, they met Oyamo who later arranged for their accommodation and attempted to schedule a meeting with the first accused. Unknown to Sharon and the journalist, Oyamo had also facilitated Oware’s travel to Nairobi on the same day, for the same purpose.
However, the promised meeting failed to materialize. Disappointed, the trio; that is the journalist, Mr. Oware and Sharon returned to Homa Bay the following evening.
Between August 27th and 29th, Oyamo separately called the journalist and Oware, using an Airtel line, instructing them to communicate via that line in future.
He gave different reasons for this change: the journalist said Oyamo claimed to have lost his Safaricom line, while Oware said the second accused claimed his Safaricom line had been locked by children and he had not had time to unblock it.
Further evidence from an Airtel shop attendant in Awendo, indicated that the line used by the second accused was registered using a national identity card issued in the name of Vincent Obonyo.
And in his testimony, Vincent Obonyo recalled losing his ID at KCB Migori and having obtained a replacement, denying that he registered the Airtel line that the second accused used.
Oware recounted that in late August 2018, Oyamo continued using the Airtel line and arranged a meeting outside a hotel, during which Oyamo asked him to distance himself from Sharon’s affairs and instead handle her issues.
Cross-examined by the victim’s family, Oware confirmed he had written a statement stating that the second accused had asked him, “How did you get access to the journalist and Sharon’s mobile phone since they contained messages that would take the Governor to prison?”On September 3rd, 2018, around 5:00 p.m., Sharon called the journalist, informing him that Oyamo had conveyed a request from the first accused to meet in Rongo, Homa Bay County.
When they arrived in Rongo, Sharon contacted the second accused, who redirected them to Rongo town. They proceeded to a hotel, waited for the accused, who eventually joined them, but Oyamo then expressed concerns that the place was too open for communication. As they exited the hotel, they found a dark vehicle parked outside, which the second accused allegedly asked them to board, claiming it belonged to him.
The vehicle already had two occupants, a driver and a passenger. The journalist sat behind the driver, Sharon in the middle seat, and Oyamo behind the front passenger. The vehicle then left the hotel, heading toward Rongo town but changed direction toward Homa Bay.
Near a petrol station, the journalist saw two people standing roadside. Oyamo ordered the driver to slow down, then exited the vehicle. The two roadside men entered and sat in the rear seat, sandwiching Sharon and the journalist. The journalist saw the two new passengers but couldn’t see the driver or the front seat passenger, who appeared to be receiving instructions on the phone.
As the vehicle sped toward Homa Bay, the man next to Sharon asked about her relationship with the governor and how she met him. She explained, distressed and crying. The man told her to stop crying, saying they were taking her to the governor.
The conversation continued. The man next to the journalist began strangling him, asking why he was covering the story about the governor. He then lowered his seat at an incline, and taking advantage of the distraction, the journalist wriggled free, opened the vehicle door lock, and jumped out while still in transit. He fell onto the tarmac and rolled off the road.
