Hellen Adhiambo Odie, popularly known as Hellen Obado, is the wife of Zachary Okoth Obado, the former Governor of Migori, and a community advocate from Kenya, as well as a former political candidate in the area.
The couple has four children: Dan Achola Okoth, Jerry Zachary Okoth, Susan Scarlet Okoth, and Evelyn Adhiambo Okoth.
She has taken part in various initiatives concerned with women’s empowerment, the education of girl children, and youth development.
Hellen Obado stood as an independent candidate for the Migori Woman Representative position in 2022 but was not successful.
Hellen Obado: Community advocacy and women’s empowerment
She gained public recognition in Migori as a result of the various initiatives she carried out in her capacity as First Lady during the time her husband, Zachary Okoth Obado, was governor.
Hellen Obado backed various initiatives aimed at women and girls, such as the ‘Kuku ni Pesa’ project, which was intended to help women’s groups obtain chicken incubators, and she also collaborated with donors to distribute sanitary towels, toiletries, and shoes to girls.
She was especially concerned with promoting the interests of women, young people, and education; during her 2022 political campaign, she said she wanted to build on the projects she started as First Lady, including those aimed at empowering girls.
Entry into elective politics
In 2022, Hellen Obado began her career in elective politics by running as an independent candidate for the position of Woman Representative in Migori.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) approved her, and she entered the campaign using the name Hellen Adhiambo Odie, on purpose separating her political identity from that of her husband, both in surname and political party.
Hellen asked the voters to judge her on their own rather than by reference to her husband’s political record during her campaign.
She also said she played a significant role in grassroots mobilization during Obado’s successful gubernatorial campaigns in 2013 and 2017.
Her political stance also differed from her husband’s during the 2022 election campaign.
Obado supported William Ruto while Hellen openly supported Raila Odinga and the Azimio coalition.
Hellen Obado eventually failed to win the seat for woman representative in Migori, ending her brief period of direct election campaigning after the 2022 General Election.
Business and land interests
Hellen Adhiambo Odie has likewise been listed in the court records in relation to Global Search Solutions Limited and a dispute concerning mining.
The High Court’s 2025 decision in the case of Mid Migori Mining Company v Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy & Maritime Affairs & Others names Global Search Solutions Limited and Hellen Adhiambo Odie as the proposed interested parties. The court noted that they had a legal and economic interest in the case.
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