Embattled Migori Governor Okoth Obado reportedly told detectives that his close associates may have killed slain Rongo University student Sharon Otieno, reports the Standard.
Ms. Otieno's mutilated body was retrieved from Kodera forest hours after she was kidnapped alongside journalist Barack Oduor.
And a police source says Mr. Obado asked detectives in Kisumu to investigate the conduct of his PA Michael Oyamo and former Kanyadoto MCA Lawrence Mula.
“The governor had been made aware of the extortion plan. Sharon had sent him a text message indicating that she was being pressured to get money from him,” said the source.
According to the source,the two were allegedly using Sharon as a channel to extort money from him on pretext of covering the deceased's pregnancy.
In the scheme, they pressured Sharon to ask for money for a piece of land and a house so that they could also benefit.
While Obado has been dragged to the gruesome murder, his lawyer Cliff Ombeta however maintains that the relationship between the two was public.
"There is nothing to hide. Their relationship was known by the family and across the county," he said.
A source said that the two worked closely with Mr. Oduor is threatening the governor secretly to release funds to Sharon.
But a stubborn Obado, who had after all briefed his family about his expected baby, refused to succumb to the pressure.
"I absolutely have nothing to do with Sharon's death. Investigative agencies should bring killers to the book," he said in a press conference.
While Mula was interrogated by the detectives and let go, Oyamo is still in police custody after being named a prime suspect.