Audio By Vocalize
Several things stood out for me in the lengthy rendition of the Obado judgement by Justice Cecilia Githua on Thursday. The first was the utter heinousness, callousness and recklesness with which the murder of university student Sharon Otieno was undertaken.
The cold-heartedness that rationalises killing a 7-month-pregnant woman and her unborn baby is incomprehensible. The recklesness which does not even make great effort to cover tracks speaks to impunity, a belief that the killers had cover, and would get away with it. The second thing that struck me is the level of diligence and professionalism of our police investigators.
The evidence was meticulously collected and presented in such a manner that the murderers had little chance of escaping conviction. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) was on point in describing the conviction as evidence of professional, impartial, and diligent prosecution of serious criminal offences. Maybe there is hope after all.
The third thing that struck me is how quickly the mighty can fall. Like all nouveau riche, Governor Obado travels large and his trip to Milimani on Thursday was no exception. A few hours later, he was just one of thousands of prisoners, hauled to jail in a prison van. His stature, a sitting governor at the time of the crime, now a former governor, were of no substance. Unless he gets the conviction reversed on appeal, he could very well face the death penalty.
