William Oduol, the deputy governor (DG) of Siaya, has spoken out about his ongoing conflict with Governor James Orengo, his superior.
Speaking on Citizen TV’s Day Break program on Friday, Oduol said that he does not harbor any ill will toward Orengo and added that the only ideological disagreements between him and the governor of Siaya exist.
Oduol stated that the point at which he and Orengo parted ways was at the end of November 2022, when he became aware of unusual withdrawals from the Siaya County imprest fund.
Oduol summoned Siaya County’s finance officers to explain the suspicious conduct after becoming perplexed by it, but at first they pretended not to know anything.
The finance officers allegedly came clean after he threatened to disclose the situation to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The Siaya Governor allegedly ignored the Siaya DG’s queries after asking Orengo about the withdrawals.
Oduol added, “I questioned the Governor, and he said he wasn’t the one authorizing the withdrawals.
Oduol claims that after confronting Orengo, he assumed that the erratic withdrawals would stop, so he decided to leave the situation alone. Oduol claims that the transactions did, nonetheless, proceed.
“Over Ksh.20 million was taken out of the imprest account in January 2023, Ksh.41 million in December, and Ksh.46 million in November. I can prove these assertions with bank statements and purchase orders, Oduol said the show’s host Trevor Ombija.
“More than Ksh.100 million was withdrawn from the imprest account in just three months.”
The county officials allegedly claimed that he failed to prove his accusations when he presented his results to the Siaya County Assembly.
Oduol claims that because there are no audit records, it is simpler for county authorities to steal money from the imprest accounts.
“Imprest has a very minimal audit trail because all that is required to withdraw money from the account is the signing of cheques. You will be questioned a lot because the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMIS) goes through the controller of budget, according to Oduol.
Oduol has recently been asked to quit from his job by ODM Secretary for Political Affairs Opiyo Wandayi as a result of the conflict between him and Orengo, which culminated in a violent disturbance of a recent burial the two attended.
In the incident that occurred on May 13, after youths associated with Orengo interrupted Oduol while speaking to the mourners, mourners were forced to evacuate the funeral of the late Elijah Achoch, chair of the Siaya County Public Service Board, amid tear gas and police firing.
The presiding bishop had to end the program and lock out all the leaders after the two groups started fighting.
Additionally, a complaint has been made against Orengo for allegedly excluding Oduol.
The deputy governor, according to Peter Agoro, Erick Onyango, and Elizabeth Akinyi’s appeal, has been denied the necessities for a fundamental human existence, including the ability to meet his daily demands.
To enable Oduol serve the Siaya people, they ask the court to order Orengo to restore all rights and obligations.
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