A statement by one of Migori Governor Okoth Obado’s aides assisted detectives to break the deadlock that led them to arrest him over the murder of Rongo University student Sharon Otieno.
Detectives investigating the gruesome murder of the 26-year-old student have revealed that statements from three of the suspects that alleged the governor’s involvement will be part of the evidence presented in court.
A driver who is believed to have been at the scene of crime is said to have provided a key missing link.
It was after piecing together the different pieces of evidence that the investigators asked that the governor appears to provide a further statement at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ headquarters in Nairobi, having recorded his version of events in Kisumu last week.
“There were discrepancies in his earlier statement. That was why we wanted to talk to him again (on Friday), but by Thursday we had collected enough evidence to sustain a case,”
On Friday night, the DCI announced that Mr Obado had been arrested and taken to Gigiri Police Station. Police and prosecutors are expected to present him in court on Monday.
#ARRESTED: Migori Governor Hon.#OkothObado has just been arrested after recording his statement @DCI_Kenya Headquarters & is currently in lawful custody at Gigiri Police Station.He will be arraigned in court on Monday to face charges of murder of university student #SharonOtieno. pic.twitter.com/HnX0dPMoqY
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) September 21, 2018
Investigators also plan to use elaborate mobile phone data — including phone calls, messages and location — of the suspects to prove movement and motive.
The governor, our source said, was in constant communication with key suspects, most of whom were close to him.
An analysis of his phone records and a range of forensic tests further convinced investigators that the high-profile suspect should be locked up despite protests from his lawyer Cliff Ombeta.
“Was he in Nairobi or in Homa Bay County on the night of the murder?” the investigator, who said the call logs indicated contradictions, asked.
The findings were corroborated by statements obtained from three of the persons, including two suspects already in police custody, and another one whom detectives are treating as a key witness in the murder case.