This archive report was first published on 2 December 2019.
On December 2, 2019, Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his co-accused appeared before Justice Grace Ngenye Macharia at the High Court in Milimani, Nairobi, for the mention of their case.
Obado accused lawyer George Wajackoyah of representing two parties with conflicting positions, claiming he had obtained confidential information from him while in police custody.
According to the court, on September 23, 2018, Wajackoyah sought and obtained instructions from Obado while he was in police custody at Gigiri Police Station.
Wajackoyah persuaded Obado to share correspondence between the DPP, the DCI, and himself, convincing him that he was doing consultancy work for the DPP and the DCI and had been granted clearance to represent him in the case.
However, Wajackoyah argued that he was present at the police station on the said date as a coincidence, as he was to meet another client whose name was not disclosed in court.
Obado insisted that he was the only suspect Wajackoyah was to see, and that the unnamed client was a fictitious character.
He claimed that if Wajackoyah's representation of the victim's family amounts to misconduct, it must be stopped.
Obado's lawyers argued that he would be subjected to an unfair trial and that the law forbids counsels from representing two parties with conflicting positions.
They added that it was about the constitutional right of the governor to a fair trial and how it would be affected by Wajackoyah's representation.
The three have denied killing Sharon Otieno and her unborn baby on the night of September 3 and 4, 2018, at Owade in Rachuonyo Sub-county, Homa Bay County.
Obado was released after depositing a cash bail of Ksh. 5 million and two sureties of a similar amount.
The High Court will give its ruling on the matter of Wajackoyah on December 18.
