Migori Governor Okoth Obado and His Four Children to Spend Weekend in Police Cells
Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his four children will spend the weekend in police cells following their arrest on Wednesday.
The five were arraigned before Senior Principal Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi of Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on Thursday alongside six other suspects.
They were charged with several counts of economic crime, money laundering, and conflict of interest over the alleged embezzlement of Sh73.4 million from Migori County Government coffers.
Obado and his co-accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and will remain in police custody pending a ruling on their bail application on Monday.
Investigations revealed that Obado indirectly received Sh73.4 million from companies that traded with the Migori County Government between 2013 and 2017, according to Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji.
Obado’s four children, Dan Achola Okoth (son), Jerry Zachary Okoth (son), Susan Scarlet Okoth (daughter), and Evelyn Adhiambo Okoth (daughter) are said to have received multiple payments from 10 companies that did business with the county government.
The family is said to have used the funds to acquire a prime property at Loresho Ridge in Nairobi, buy luxury cars, pay school fees, upkeep and medical bills for Obado’s children in the UK, Scotland, and Australia.
The 10 companies that made the alleged payments are Misoft Company Limited, Tarchdog Printers, Deltrack ICT Services, Seletrack Consultants, and Mactebac Contractors. Others are Joyush Business, Swyfcon Engineering, Atinus Services, Kajulu Business, Victorious Investment, Dolphus Softwares, Dankey Press, and Pesulus Services.
“Investigations further revealed that the directors or proprietors of the companies, were proxies of the governor, including three of whom were brothers namely: Jared Peter Kwaga, Patroba Ochanda, and Joram Opala; and their mother Penina Auma Otago, and the spouse to Jared Peter Kwaga, Christine Akinyi and his sister-in-law Carolyne Onyango,” added Haji.