Governor Obado, Kin Implicated in Fresh Scandal

Migori Governor Okoth Obado, accompanied by his wife Hellen, during a press conference on September 12, 2018.
Migori Governor Okoth Obado, accompanied by his wife Hellen, during a press conference on September 12, 2018.
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The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Thursday, May 21, implicated Migori Governor Okoth Obado in a Ksh35 corruption million corruption scandal.

The commission alleged that the governor squandered county funds using a proxy to purchase a house in a prime estate in Nairobi.

"EACC has obtained orders preserving a property in Loresho bought for Ksh35 million using funds embezzled from Migori County by Jared Kwaga, a suspected proxy of Governor Obado.

An image of Okoth Obado
Migori Governor Okoth Obado at the Kibra Law Courts on Thursday, November 15, 2018.
Citizen Digital

"Kwaga, together with his family members, had incorporated many companies to fraudulently trade with the County," revealed EACC.

The commission also alleged that the tenant at the said Loresho property owned by Mr. Kwaga, actually paid rent to Evelyne Zachary, Governor Obado’s daughter.

With this information, EACC stated hat it had reasonable suspicion to believe that the governor is the true beneficiary of the property.

The anti-corruption agency noted that it obtained preservation orders to ensure that the property was transferred, disposed or in any other way dealt with to defeat the course of justice before EACC completed investigations and commenced civil proceedings.

This became the second high-profile case against Obado who was on Friday, September 21, 2018, arrested over the murder of a pregnant Rongo University student, Sharon Otieno.

His arrest came after detectives and government scientists confirmed that the baby boy ripped from Ms Sharon Otieno’s womb had matching DNA with Obado.

In yet another case, on May 13, 2019, Obado, was given a seven-day ultimatum by the County Public Accounts and Investment Committee to reproduce crucial documents razed down by a fire he blamed for the failure to explain county expenditure.

Obado agreed with the auditor that they were not able to provide the financial statements showing how that money was used but it did not mean that the money was unlawfully spent. 

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