Police question second governor aide over Sharon killing

Toyota Fielder with removed registration number after it was seized in Migori town and relocated to Oyugis Police station in Rachuonyo South on September 18,2018. The car that operate as a taxi in Migori is believed by detectives to be the one used as getaway car during abduction of the late Sharon Otieno and journalist Barrack Oduor. The driver Jackson Otieno Gombe who was paid six thousand for the job has also been arrested. [Photo: Denish Ochieng/ Standard])

Police investigating the killing of university student Sharon Otieno have questioned another close aide to Migori Governor Okoth Obado.

The man, who we cannot name because he is yet to appear in court, was interrogated yesterday afternoon at Oyugis Police Station in Homa Bay County,  where a driver of the car believed to have been used in the kidnap and murder was being held.

A source within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) confirmed they questioned the governor’s aide but could not say whether he was under arrest or  was merely helping with investigation.

The man is suspected to be the owner of the car said to have been used in the kidnapping of Sharon and Nation journalist, Barack Oduor, from Rongo township.

Toyota Fielder

The car, a black Toyota Fielder that operated as a taxi in Migori town, has also been impounded and is parked at the Oyugis Police Station.

The driver, Jackson Otieno Gombe, was arrested on Sunday evening in Migori town, and quickly arraigned in an Oyugis court on Monday, where police successfully applied to detain him for 10 more days.

Officers on patrol in Migori are said to have spotted the car as it was being driven by a senior county official, who is though to have hired it unknowingly.

The car, whose recovery may help the police in tracing the student’s killers, has been missing since the incident two weeks ago.

The Standard has established that a wife to the man questioned yesterday has also been interrogated. The two are employees of the county government.

Another aide to the governor, Michael Oyamo, is in police custody waiting to take plea next week. He was arrested only hours after Sharon’s body was found dumped in a thicket near Oyugis town.

Three suspects held

Since the killing of the student two weeks ago, three suspects have been arrested and are in police custody.

According to an affidavit filed by a detective at the Oyugis law courts, the car’s driver has been adversely mentioned in the investigations.

The officer also told the court detectives needed to submit the suspect’s mobile phone for forensic examinations and wait for a report to facilitate investigation.

The police had moved to court seeking orders to detain the suspect for 10 more days to interrogate him.

Senior Resident Magistrate Joy Shiundu granted the orders.