DPP, EACC clash in court over deal signed to end Obado's corruption case

A clash between the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) played out in court today morning during the hearing of an application seeking to withdraw corruption charges against former Migori governor Okoth Obado and others.

EACC told the court it had not signed the plea agreement filed in the matter, raising questions over why the deal was recorded without its approval. 

The commission argued that although it attended various meetings on the negotiations—the last one held on 28th August—it was never furnished with a draft agreement to review or seek instructions on.

“The practice has been that once negotiations are concluded, a draft plea agreement is shared between EACC and the DPP. We requested for the draft, but the same was not availed to us. We have therefore not had an opportunity to go through it or seek instructions,” EACC’s representatives said, adding that the omission undermined the dispute resolution mechanism earlier agreed upon.

The prosecution, however, maintained that EACC was fully aware of the plea bargain, noting that its officials attended all negotiation meetings from April to August 2025.

The ODPP insisted that after EACC indicated it lacked instructions to proceed, the prosecution went ahead and signed the plea deal with the accused persons.

"We did not refuse to hand over any agreement, parties were attending these meetings and they were aware that that was the day to sign the agreement,"the  court was told 

Defence lawyer Kioko Kilikumi, representing Obado, backed the DPP’s position, insisting that EACC is not a mandatory party to such agreements. 

“The DPP alone has the constitutional mandate to withdraw charges. EACC cannot control the ODPP. They were merely invited into the process out of courtesy, and it is not a must that they sign the agreement,” Kilikumi argued.

According to the defense, the negotiations had always been premised on the withdrawal of the criminal case and a parallel settlement of civil matters in court.

"This same EACC entered into negotiations with the accused persons, and the starting point was that the criminal case would be withdrawn and the accused persons would make a settlement in the civil courts," Kilikumi said.

According to Kilikumi, EACC is not supposed to sign the plea bargain, and next time they should be kicked out, adding that EACC does not feature.

The court will now determine whether the withdrawal application stands despite EACC’s objections.

A statement shared by the ODPP indicates that the assets worth Ksh.235 million have been recovered from Obado following the plea bargain agreement in the corruption case involving alleged misappropriation of Ksh. 73.4 million.