Migori Governor Okoth Obado has applied for disqualification of a lawyer representing the family of slain Rongo University student Sharon Otieno.
Mr Obado is facing murder charges following the death of Sharon Otieno and her unborn baby, a case which is now on a full trial.
According to the governor, Prof George Wajackoyah has privileged information which he is apprehensive may be revealed and/or shared with the prosecution in the course of the proceedings.
For Governor Obado, the continued appearance of the advocate for the victim’s family in the case will breach his constitutional right to a fair trial and cause great miscarriage of justice.
The governor argued that when he was detained, the learned counsel was one of those who had approached his team to represent him in court.
“He intimated to me that he had done a lot of consultancy work with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI),” argues Obado.
“In this process, he showed me correspondence between himself and the two offices and I was convinced that indeed he had good knowledge in criminal law practice. He further confirmed that the two offices cleared him to represent me.”
Governor Obado is jointly facing murder charges with his aides Michael Oyamo and Caspal Obiero, who have also denied the conspiracy to murder the young student.
Despite distancing himself from the crime scene, Obado has however admitted being a lover to the deceased. DNA tests also revealed she was carrying his baby.
The prosecution team has lined up 42 witnesses who will testify against the second term ODM governor. Key among them is a journalist who was allegedly present during the murder.
Ms Otieno was murdered in September 2018. Since then, her parents have forgiven the killers despite the ongoing court case involving the governor.