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Former Migori Governor Zachary Okoth Obado and his former aides Michael Juma Oyamo and Caspal Obiero before the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on July 23, 2027. [David Gichuru, Standard]
I was there.
I was there on July 23, 2026, inside High Court Criminal Division Court 1 at the Milimani Law Courts when Justice Cecilia Gathua delivered judgment in one of Kenya's most closely watched murder trials. Before the court stood former Migori Governor Zachary Okoth Obado, his former Personal Assistant Michael Juma Oyamo, and Caspal Obiero, a former clerical officer with the County Government of Migori. Nearly eight years after the murder of Sharon Otieno, the trial had reached its defining moment.
Court 1 was filled to capacity long before the Judge entered. Every seat had been occupied, forcing many of us to remain standing throughout the proceedings. Television cameras lined the courtroom. Journalists occupied every available space. Representatives of human rights organisations, women's rights groups and civil society observed the proceedings closely. Security was noticeably tight both inside the courtroom and throughout the Milimani Law Courts.
