Former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his two co-convicts will be sentenced on November 27, 2026, after the High Court in Nairobi deferred the highly anticipated hearing to allow it to consider pre-sentence and victim-impact reports.
Justice Cecilia Githua directed that Obado, Michael Juma Oyamo and Caspal Ojwang Obiero remain at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison until the sentencing hearing.
The court postponed the hearing on Wednesday after Sharon Otieno’s parents asked for a Luo interpreter to help them follow and take part fully in the mitigation proceedings.
Sharon’s family later asked the court to show leniency to Obado, saying they had forgiven him.
Through their lawyer, the family said it would not oppose a non-custodial or lenient sentence if Obado fulfilled material promises he had previously made, including providing a house and a vehicle.
The family said the support would help Sharon’s surviving children and meet legal costs incurred over the past eight years.
The prosecution, however, opposed the request, saying the family’s forgiveness did not take away the state’s duty to pursue criminal justice over the killings.
It said the family had the right to give its views but maintained that the seriousness of the offence required a sentence that reflected the gravity of the crime, regardless of any personal reconciliation.
Obado, his former personal assistant Oyamo and former Migori County clerk Obiero were found guilty of the double murder in July 2026.
The case stems from the killing of Sharon, a Rongo University student whose body was found in September 2018 after she disappeared while pregnant.
The court will now consider the pre-sentence and victim-impact reports before deciding the punishment for the three men.
The sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 27 at 10:30am.
"The court has been informed by the parties, together with the written submissions on litigation, and will deliver its ruling on sentence on the 27th of November," the judge stated.