"Please leave my husband alone": Sharon Otieno got text before murder, court told

The late Sharon Otieno received threatening messages from an unidentified woman regarding her alleged affair with former Migori Governor Okoth Obado days before her brutal murder, the Milimani High Court heard on Friday.

On the third day of his defense, Michael Oyamo Juma, Obado’s former personal assistant, testified before Judge Cecilia Githua that Otieno had received threatening texts. Oyamo referenced messages retrieved by DCI officer Ezekiel Ade from Otieno's tablet.

The messages, believed to have been sent by an unidentified woman from an unknown number, included threats such as:

“Please leave my husband alone, I can do you for worst. You will not walk away with it, idiot...gold digger. I will fight you to the bitter end.” Another read: “Please, I’m requesting you to leave my husband alone. The unbelievable will be the order of the day.”

A third warned: “You must pay this dearly. I have everything about you.” Otieno responded, “I don’t remember going out with anyone’s husband.”

Oyamo confirmed the messages constituted real threats but declined to reveal the sender’s identity.

Dressed in a dark suit and maintaining a composed demeanor, Oyamo distanced himself from Otieno’s murder and denied any romantic involvement with her. He also refuted claims that he fathered her unborn child.

“Around July 2018, Sharon called me, claiming she was pregnant and suspected I was the father,” Oyamo testified, referencing a prior police statement. “I had no sexual relations with her,” he maintained.

He explained that police took his blood for DNA testing to determine paternity, and the results, presented in court, confirmed he was not the father.

Oyamo said he first learned of Otieno in July 2018 through rumors and later through an MCA and a journalist who sought a meeting with Governor Obado regarding the affair.
In his three-day testimony, Oyamo detailed his interactions with Otieno on the evening of her murder, denying the prosecution’s claim that he handed her over to her killers.

The prosecution alleges Oyamo planned the murder at the home of Obado’s aide and lured the 26-year-old Rongo University student to her death at Gracias Hotel in Rongo, where she was abducted.

Oyamo testified that on September 3, 2018, he met Otieno and a journalist, referred to as XYZ, at Gracias Hotel, where they were drinking Penasol wine. “I found Sharon and XYZ seated with two glasses on the table,” he said, noting that he questioned XYZ for allowing a pregnant woman to consume alcohol.

The meeting aimed to address Otieno’s complaints about financial support and her disputes with XYZ and the late MCA Lawrence Mula, who allegedly split money provided by Obado for her welfare.

Oyamo recounted delivering Sh100,000 to Mula for Otieno on August 15, 2018, but agreed to give her half upfront.

Oyamo denied the prosecution’s claim that he lured Otieno and XYZ into a vehicle used for their abduction or that he sat in the front seat. He said he returned to Obado’s residence in Rapogi after leaving the hotel and was home by 10 pm.

He also refuted allegations that the murder was planned at the home of Olivia Oloo, wife of co-accused Caspal Obiero, on the morning of September 3, 2018. “I was in Migori preparing for an official trip to Rwanda scheduled for September 4,” he said.

Oyamo further denied knowing Jackson Gombe, a taxi driver allegedly involved in the murder.

Regarding a trip to Nairobi on August 24, 2018, Oyamo said he sent Sh22,500 to facilitate Otieno and XYZ’s travel to meet Obado about her welfare. However, after arriving at JKIA, they waited over three hours without clear instructions.

When Oyamo called, XYZ said they had left for Capital Centre along Mombasa Road because Otieno felt unwell. The meeting with Obado never occurred, leading to tension with the governor.

The prosecution will cross-examine Oyamo on June 11.