By Brian Kiprono - Reporter
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Kenya, 23 July 2026 - The High Court has explained why the death of Sharon Otieno's unborn baby did not result in a separate murder conviction, despite finding that the Rongo University student died after suffering multiple stab wounds.
While delivering judgment in the high-profile case on Thursday, Justice Cecilia Githua said Kenyan law does not recognise the killing of an unborn child as murder unless the child had been born alive.
The ruling came as the court concluded the long-running trial involving former Migori Governor Okoth Obado, his former personal assistant Michael Oyamo, and former Migori County Clerk Caspal Obiero, who had faced two counts of murder—one relating to Sharon and the other to her unborn child.
According to the judge, medical evidence showed that Sharon and her unborn baby died from excessive bleeding caused by seven stab wounds to her abdomen.
However, the court ruled that the second count could not stand because the unborn child did not meet the legal definition of a person under Kenyan law.
"By virtue of the born-alive principle, which was incorporated into Kenyan law by Section 214 of the Penal Code, baby Sharon, being a foetus which died in its mother's womb, did not fit the description of a person within the meaning of Section 203 of the Penal Code, which creates the offence of murder," Justice Githua ruled.
Section 203 of the Penal Code defines murder as the unlawful killing of another person with malice aforethought, while Section 214 provides that a child becomes a person capable of being killed only after being completely born alive.
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The judge said that because Sharon's baby died before birth, the law did not permit a murder charge in relation to the foetus.
"The accused persons did not have a case to answer in count two, and each of them was accordingly acquitted in respect of that count," she said.
During the trial, the prosecution presented 42 witnesses and 81 exhibits, including phone records, text messages and forensic DNA evidence linking Obado to Sharon's unborn child.
The defence had argued that the case relied largely on circumstantial evidence and urged the court to acquit the accused.
Thursday's ruling has also drawn attention to the legal distinction between the loss of an unborn child and the offence of murder under Kenyan law, highlighting provisions that continue to shape how such cases are prosecuted in the country's courts.