DPP confirms recovery of Sh235m assets in Obado graft case

Zachary Okoth obado during a court proceeding ton September 5,2025 at Milimani law courts

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has confirmed the recovery of assets worth Ksh235 million from former Migori Governor Okoth Obado, marking a significant development in the ongoing graft case against him.

The recovery agreement followed a formal request by Obado to resolve the matter through an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism. He and 17 others had been accused of misappropriating Ksh73.4 million from the Migori County government.

On September 5, 2025, State prosecutor Norah told the court that consensus was reached through a series of meetings held on April 22, June 27, July 25, and August 28 this year.

She noted that attendance sheets and deliberation notes were attached to demonstrate compliance with the law.

“The intention was to sign the plea agreement. On August 28, we deliberated on who should sign the agreement with the accused persons. We did not refuse to hand over any document, as the matter was already scheduled for hearing on September 1, 2025,” Norah said.

The former governor and his co-accused were first arrested in August 2020 after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) alleged that they used 13 companies to siphon money from county coffers.

Four of Obado’s children were also among those arrested, accused of benefiting from payments made to firms doing business with Migori County between 2013 and 2017.

Even with the partial recovery, questions remain. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is said to have not fully endorsed the deal, having initially sought to recover over Sh1.9 billion from Obado and more than 20 others linked to alleged fraudulent contracts.

The DPP insists that the recovery of Sh235 million is a milestone under ADR, which allows corruption cases to be resolved through asset recovery rather than lengthy trials.

However, since the case file is still active, the matter will continue to be monitored by the court as parties finalize the terms of settlement.