Michael Oyamo, the former personal aide to ex-Migori Governor Okoth Obado, will have to take the witness stand before calling any of his own witnesses in the ongoing murder trial of university student Sharon Otieno.
The directive was issued by High Court Judge Cecelia Githua, who dismissed an application by Oyamo’s defense team seeking to have his witnesses testify ahead of him.
In her ruling, Justice Githua upheld the legal requirement that an accused person must first give their own evidence if they choose to present a defense.
“I agree with the prosecution that it is a matter of law that the accused must begin with his own evidence,” she stated.
“I therefore decline the application. He must lay the foundation for his case, and if he chooses, he may call his witnesses afterward to support his defense,” she added.
The decision follows an earlier ruling that Oyamo has a case to answer in the murder of Sharon Otieno, a Rongo University student whose brutal killing in 2018 shocked the nation.
Her body was discovered in a forest in Homa Bay County, with an autopsy revealing she had been stabbed multiple times and was seven months pregnant at the time of her death.
Oyamo, who was serving as Obado’s aide at the time, is one of the key suspects in the murder case, alongside other co-accused persons, including the former governor.
The prosecution alleges that Sharon was lured into a deadly trap orchestrated by the suspects due to her relationship with the then-governor.
In court, Oyamo’s legal team argued for a reversal of the traditional order of defense testimony, citing the complexity of the case and the strategic value of having witnesses testify first.
However, the court maintained that legal procedure must be followed.
During the same court session, the defense was also handed call data records from Safaricom, which Oyamo claimed are critical to his case.
The accused informed the court that the data will form a key part of his defense strategy.
“The call data is so crucial to my defense,” Oyamo stated.
The case is now set to proceed with Oyamo expected to testify as the first defense witness, laying the groundwork for his version of events in the high-profile murder case that has dragged on for years.
Legal experts note that this phase of the trial is pivotal, as the defense will seek to counter the prosecution’s evidence, which includes phone records, witness testimonies, and forensic reports linking the accused to the crime.
The murder trial continues to draw national attention due to its political connections and the brutal nature of the crime.
As proceedings move forward, all eyes remain on the courtroom for developments in one of Kenya’s most closely watched trials.
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