A Nairobi court has ruled that the case on the murder of Sharon Otieno and her unborn baby, in which Migori governor Okoth Obado is the main suspect, will be heard from next week.

Obado alongside two co-accused, Juma Oyamo and Casper Obiero, were charged with the murder of Sharon and her unborn baby but the trio was released on bond after pleading not guilty to the murder charges.

According to a direcrtive issued by trial Judge Cecilia Githua, only two witnesses presented by the prosecution will be allowed to testify per day.

“The number of participants will be restricted to the accused person, their lawyers, DPP team, and the victim’s family,” Githua directed.

The court on Monday listed the matter for mention instead of the initial hearing set for Monday.

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The matter was previously being handled by Justice Jessie Lessit, who has since been transferred to Mombasa in the latest reshuffle in the judiciary.

Obado and his co-accused in the case had asked the court through their lawyer Kioko Kilukumi to postpone the matter on account of Covid19 measures.

"The request is not a move to delay the case, we were simply drawing the attention of the court to a public risk if we were to violate the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health,” submitted Kilukumi.

The embattled governor had also cited the recent government announcement that Migori falls under the region marked as Covid-19 Delta variant hotspot.

Lawyer Tom Ojienda also requested for the matter to be mentioned within a month and be heard after August when the Covid-19 measures are reviewed.

Ojienda had argued that a murder trial requires physical engagement with their clients.

“For this hearing to proceed amidst a restriction that will compromise our physical engagement with our clients, we pray that you set aside that slated for today,” he submitted.

Lawyer Catherine Mwaniki, acting for the prosecution, opposed the application for adjournment saying the matter had taken too long in court already.

“This is a 2018 matter which has never started, we take cognizant of the Covid-19 issue,” argued Mwaniki.

She said it was possible for the court to provide a tent for the matter to proceed and have all the Ministry of Health protocols observed.

The murder case was set for hearing for 10 days after the trial was adjourned from March last year due to circumstances occasioned by the pandemic.