Kenyan governor Okoth Obado has been charged in court with aiding and abetting the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend, a pregnant student

The married governor pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Mr Obado's arrest followed weeks of public anger after the body of Sharon Otieno, 26, was found in a forest.

A post-mortem revealed she had possibly been raped, and stabbed eight times in the neck, abdomen and back. She lost her unborn child during the attack.

Mr Obado, the governor of Migori County, has been remanded in custody, pending the outcome of his bail application on Tuesday mother Melida Auma was tearful in court, and struggled to control her emotions, Kenya's Standard newspaper reported.

In an earlier statement, Kenya's chief prosecutor Noodin Haji said he had also given instructions for two of Mr Obado's aides to be charged - one for murder and the other for aiding and abetting murder.

"Sharon and her unborn baby lost their lives in a gruesome and horrifying manner in the hands of her killers. My office is therefore committed to ensuring that all the perpetrators of the heinous act are brought to book and subjected to the due process of the law," Mr Haji added. Last week, his lawyer Cliff Ombeta told the BBC the governor had had a relationship with Ms Otieno, but was not sure whether she was carrying his child.

The relationship, which ended in April, had been general knowledge in the governor's area, Mr Ombeta added.

"The wife had known. There was no shame left. There was no embarrassment left. So malice couldn't then have been created thereafter," he said.

"They came to an agreement, 'mtoto kama ni wetu ni wetu' [Kiswahili for 'if the baby belongs to us, it is ours]," he added.