A taxi driver who allegedly ferried late Sharon to her execution point narrated before Justice Cecilia Githua at Milimani High court how he ferried Sharon Otieno and her abductors to a thicket in Owade, Homa Bay, where she was butchered to death.
Jackson Otieno Gombe was initially protected as a witness for three years. He voluntarily left the program, but the prosecution tried to have him testify in private, claiming he was concerned about his safety.
However, the defense side, led by senior lawyer Kioko Kilukumi, protested, claiming that the state’s grounds are unsupported by evidence.
Following the objection by the defense, trial judge Cecilia Githua dismissed the prosecution’s request, stating that she was not convinced that adequate reasons had been provided to have the witness appear in camera, and ordered that the case proceed in open Court.
Gombe testified in court that he was driving a taxi owned by one of the accused person’s wife on the tragic day. He stated that the woman’s name is Olivia.
She is purportedly the wife of Caspal Obiero, a former Migori county clerk who is also charged alongside former Governor Okoth Obado, and his PA Michael Oyamo over the death of Sharon and her unborn baby.
According to reports, the murder occurred on September 3, 2018. Gombe stated that he picked Sharon, a journalist, and other men up at the Graca Hotel in Rongo in a grey Toyota Fielder.
Gombe narrated to the court how he was instructed to stop and switch off the car engine and three men left him in the car and walked away with the expectant Rongo University student.
He alleged that after the three men alighted together with Sharon, they returned after about 10 to 20 minutes without the deceased.
The driver explained to the court that when he asked where Sharon was, the men told him that they left her at her home.
The case proceeds today in Court.
