Migori governor Okoth Obado’s family is at breaking point over his continued arrest and harrassment
The family said at a press conference in Migori that Governor Obado’s tribulations are caused by a senior Nyanza politician who is “afraid of the rising star” in his backyard.
Family spokesman Samuel Otewa, who is Obado’s uncle, said they have remained humble to let the court deal with their son “but we have reached a breaking point.”
“What is happening to our son is a political witch hunt. We are tired as a family and we can’t take it anymore,” Otewa said.
Obado’s Kanyamkago clan members termed raid by EACC detectives at the governor’s homes as malice and in bad faith.
“Officers who raided his Rapogi home went to a local SDA Church where we worship to ask pastors how much our son has been contributing in the Church,” Otewa said.
Obado’s brother Daudi Obado, said the governor’s tribulations started because of his differences with a senior politician in Nyanza, whom they did not name, why back in 2002 when he was at the Kenya Sugar Board.
“The politician started frustrating our son in 2002 to stifle him politically. The same senior politician undermines democracy and an alternative voice in Nyanza,” Daudi said.
He said Obado got resistance when tried to vie for Uriri MP in 2007, and as governor twice in 2013, 2017.
“We need openness in the court system in the cases the governor is facing,” Daudi said.
The family said Obado has been defamed in social media as if “Migori is the only corrupt county in Kenya, and Obado the most corrupt Kenyan.”
“We have seen counties especially in Nyanza lagging behind in development, yet there is much corruption. This one of Migori is overblown,” he said,
The family said their son is human, and even if he had erred, his mistreatment is too much for them to bear.
Earlier in the day, Obado’s supporters held demonstrations in Migori town. They waved placards and castigated a senior politician for being behind the governor’s woes.
