Voters in Sigomere ward in Siaya have started collecting signatures to recall their MCA Eric Odawa for abuse of office.
Led by youth leader Kevis Dooso, the electorate accused Odawa of using his office to influence the award of a Sh20 million county road tender that he won.
Dooso, the Siaya youth leaders chairman, said Odawa took advantage of his position as the chairman of the Siaya county assembly's committee on roads to secure the tender.
He said the MCA ought to have declared a conflict of interest. Dooso said they were collecting signatures to recall the MCA.
Odawa has denied wrongdoing.
“We want to ensure that Odawa is sent home as early as this year to serve as an example to many MCAs who are found of denying youth tenders just because they are in office,” Dooso said.
Dooso said he had files of many other MCAs in Siaya who he said were getting tenders from the executive.
“I want to put all MCAs doing tenders with the executive at the expense of their oversight role on notice. By the time we are through with Odawa, they should be prepared for the same,” Dooso said.
He claimed Odawa threatened the executive with fake reports on roads to win tenders and handouts.
“That is an abuse of office and I want to ask the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate and bring Odawa to book,” Dooso said.
The youth leader said he had documents to help in the investigations.
“The document in my position shows that the MCA’s company was awarded Ugunja subcounty roads and specifically in his Sigomere ward despite being the roads committee chair in the assembly,” Dooso said.
He said the MCA's company did shoddy work citing the Nyaranga box culvert, Kosunga-Ogango road and Sigomere-Hawagaya road.
“The MCA has failed us especially in his oversight role as he cannot oversight himself by doing business with the executive and denying women and youth the job opportunities,” Dooso said.
Odawa admitted to having worked with the county government but said he won tenders before he became MCA.
“Yes I have done tenders with the county government but that was 2014 before I was even elected as the Sigomere MCA,” Odawa said.
edited by peter obuya
