Former governor Obado’s property worth Sh428 million to be auctioned
Assets worth staggering Sh428 million linked to former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his associates are set to be auctioned.
The exercise is scheduled for June 23, 2025, officials said.
The Assets Recovery Agency and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission are moving to seize properties believed to have been bought with stolen public funds.
The two agencies identified the properties to be auctioned in Nairobi on Friday, with the exercise expected to be extended to Kisumu and Migori counties.
The hammer is about to fall on prime real estate once owned by Obado and his close associates, properties at the heart of a Sh1.9 billion graft scandal exposed back in 2020.
Properties set to be auctioned include a plush Loresho Ridge house valued at Sh40 million, a three-bedroom Riara apartment worth Sh22 million, two Greenspan Estate apartments valued at Sh18 million, a Greenspan maisonette with a servant’s quarter valued at Sh14.5 million, and an unfinished Runda plot valued at Sh50 million.
More auctions are planned for Kisumu and Migori. Obado surrendered these properties in 2024 after striking a deal with the anti-graft commission, opting to avoid a drawn-out court battle.
“The person we were investigating came forward and said, ‘Look, instead of dragging this case in court, I am willing to surrender,” EACC CEO Abdi Mohamud stated.
The EACC had initially sought to recover more than Sh1.9 billion allegedly misappropriated by Obado and more than 20 others from the Migori County government through fictitious procurement contracts.
Obado and the Commission reached a settlement to surrender properties worth Sh428 million.
“The reason why we recover assets, other than returning them to the rightful owners, is actually to act as a deterrent to other people so they don’t enjoy the proceeds of corruption,” Mohamud stated.
After the auction, the funds are set to be deposited into the Consolidated Fund to support public services.
“The problem we have with politicians is mainly their supporters, not the politicians themselves, because you will find the public wants you to investigate a politician but it’s the same public that defends them,” he added.
The commission says it has recovered assets worth Sh28 billion over the last five years and is currently pursuing over 400 more corruption cases valued at Sh50 billion.
“We have been able to train our investigators and our lawyers on things to do with financial graft.”
And it’s not just houses—two Land Cruisers seized from Obado are also on the auction list.