Court allows Obado to substitute Sh8.7m cash bail with bond
A Nairobi court yesterday allowed Migori Governor Okoth Obado to substitute his cash bail of Sh8.7 million with a bond of Sh20 million, pending the hearing and determination of Sh72 million graft case against him.
At the same time, trial magistrate Lawrence Mugambi allowed Obado’s four children and the other accused persons to substitute their various cash bails with sureties.
Bail conditions
The development follows a successful application by defence lawyers led by Kioko Kilukumi, that the accused wished to be allowed to substitute their cash bails pending the hearing of the case.
Prosecution counsel did not oppose the application.
Mugambi said other court orders which include barring Obado from accessing his county office as one of the bail conditions, remain in force as earlier ordered.
The governor and his four children had been slapped with a total of Sh18.25 million cash bail.
Obado alone had been granted a cash bail of Sh8.7 million or a Sh20 million bond with a surety of similar amount while his children were separately granted cash bail ranging between Sh2 million and Sh3 million or bond of Sh4 million each.
Another suspect, Jared Odoyo Oluoch had been granted a cash bail of Sh8.5 million or a Sh15 million bond.
The rest of the accused persons were granted cash bail of Sh5.5 million or bond ranging between Sh4 million to Sh10 million.
One of the suspects, Peninah Auma Otango, 72, whose company has been charged with receiving money from the county government had been granted a cash bail of Sh6 million.
Obado and his four children have denied 28 counts of money laundering, abuse of office and obtaining public property which led to the loss of Sh73 million from the county government.
All the accused persons denied a common charge of unlawful acquisition of public funds amounting to Sh73 million belonging to Migori County government.
