Migori Governor Okoth Obado has applied to have a case in which he is accused of killing Sharon Otieno postponed.
Through his lawyer Kioko Kilukumi, Obado has written to the Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji informing him that he won’t be able to travel to Nairobi for the hearing of his murder case due to the travel restrictions imposed on the county.
“In light of the directions issued by the Ministry of Health on June 17 for the greater public good and to avoid the quick spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19 to the rest of the country, my client is unable to travel outside the Covid-19 hotspot zone (Migori county),” reads the letter by lawyer Kioko Kilukumi.
The application to postpone the trial came on the day the family of slain Rongo University student Sharon Otieno asked the Judiciary to fast-track the case against Obado.
The trial is set to kick off on July 5 and proceed for 10 days ending on July 15. But Obado wants the date pushed further.
He also wants the case to be mentioned on Monday next week virtually before the trial judge so as to fix the new hearing dates.
The DPP, however, said his office was ready to proceed with the hearing as scheduled and will oppose Obado’s application to have the case postponed.
“We shall be ready to proceed with the trial and will prepare adequately to oppose if they make the application in an open court,” Haji said.
The prosecution has lined up 37 witnesses to testify against the governor and his co-accused.
