The sentencing of former Migori Governor Okoth Obado took an unexpected turn on Wednesday after the parents of the late Sharon Otieno asked the High Court to spare him a prison or death sentence. The request was made during the mitigation and sentencing hearing at the Milimani Law Courts, where Obado and his co-convicts Michael Juma Oyamo and Caspal Ajwang Obiero appeared before Justice Cecilia Githua. Sharon’s parents, through their lawyer, asked the court to consider a non-custodial sentence for Obado, saying they had forgiven him and wanted to maintain a cordial relationship with him. The proceedings were briefly adjourned earlier in the day after the parents asked to address the court through a Luo interpreter. The Judiciary facilitated the request before the hearing resumed.

Sharon’s mother, Melinda Auma, personally addressed the court and pleaded with Justice Githua not to send Obado to prison or impose a death sentence. According to The Star, Auma told the court that imprisonment would amount to another death in her life and said the family had forgiven the former governor. The family’s lawyer argued that sentencing should take into account the emotional and psychological needs of victims and that restorative justice should have a place in the process. The prosecution did not oppose the parents’ right to express their views but maintained that their position could not determine the sentence. State counsel Gikui Gichuhi told the court that sentencing remained a judicial function and that the judge would have to consider the circumstances of the offence, applicable law and other sentencing principles.

The latest request marks a significant change from the position contained in material previously presented to the court. In a victim impact statement filed ahead of the sentencing hearing, Sharon’s family described the financial and emotional consequences of her death and asked the court to consider compensation. The family said it had spent about KSh1.2 million attending court proceedings and approximately KSh3.5 million on funeral and burial expenses. A probation report also indicated that the family had sold a one-acre piece of land and a cow to help meet expenses arising from the prolonged legal process. The family raised concerns about supporting Sharon’s children, her siblings and her ageing parents. The family had also been involved in reconciliation efforts with members of Obado’s family before the sentencing hearing.

The parents’ request does not determine the punishment that Obado, Oyamo and Obiero will receive. The court is expected to consider the mitigation submissions, victim impact material and pre-sentence reports before determining the appropriate sentences. Obado, Oyamo and Obiero were convicted in July after Justice Githua found that the prosecution had proved its case against them in connection with Sharon’s 2018 murder. Their bond terms were subsequently cancelled and they were remanded pending sentencing. Sharon, who was 26 and seven months pregnant, was killed in September 2018 after she was abducted alongside journalist Barrack Oduor. Her body was later found in a thicket near Kodera Forest in Homa Bay County.

The sentencing hearing is now proceeding with the court required to balance the mitigation presented by the convicted men, the prosecution’s submissions and the views and impact statements presented by Sharon’s family. The final decision on the sentences remains with Justice Githua.