This archive report was first published on 18 December 2019.
On December 18, 2019, the High Court blocked lawyer George Wajackoyah from representing the family of Sharon Otieno in her murder case.
Justice Ngenye Macharia ruled that Prof Wajackoyah had a conflict of interest, which could compromise the fairness of the trial.
Migori Governor Okoth Obado, who is charged alongside two others with the murder of Rongo University student Sharon Otieno and her unborn child, had accused Prof Wajackoyah of representing two parties with conflicting positions.
According to the court, on September 23, 2018, when Obado was in police custody at Gigiri Police Station, Prof Wajackoyah sought and obtained instructions from the governor.
The lawyer had persuaded the governor to share confidential information, including correspondence between the DPP, the DCI, and himself.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Macharia stated that the lawyer was conflicted and could use private undisclosed information to torment the governor, thereby denying him a fair trial.
The judge asked the family of the victim to find another lawyer.
