- Leaders from the county have spoken publicly about it, among them the Siaya senator Dr Oburu Odinga, Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi and woman representative Dr Christine Ombaka.
- The majority of residents too, believe it is not working. They say the fallout is hurting service delivery to the people of Siaya- further denting the image of the County.
Is Thursday's impeachment of Siaya Deputy Governor William Oduol a signal to the beginning of the end of a political journey between him and Governor James Orengo?
Do they still have a chance to reclaim their now frosty relations, finish the race together and deliver the Nyalore promise to the people of Siaya who voted overwhelmingly for them on August 9, last year?
This is the question lingering in the minds of many concerned residents of Siaya, particularly after the county assembly impeached the deputy governor on Thursday.
To many observers, the constant bickering is clearly not healthy for the marriage.
Leaders from the county have spoken publicly about it, among them the Siaya senator Dr Oburu Odinga, Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi and woman representative Dr Christine Ombaka.
The majority of residents too, believe it is not working. They say the fallout is hurting service delivery to the people of Siaya- further denting the image of the County.
During a full house sitting, the 42 MCAs of the Siaya county assembly adopted the report of the 14-member select Committee that was formed by the assembly on May 29th to investigate allegations facing the DG.
All the MCAs voted in favour of the resolution by the select committee to impeach Oduol.
The ad-hoc committee was put in place following the adoption by the house of a notice of motion to impeach Oduol which was tabled before the assembly on May 22nd by East Asembo MCA Gordon Onguru.
Chaired by Yimbo East MCA Francis Otiato, the committee found that all the allegations tabled by Onguru against Oduol, which included gross violation of the constitution and other laws, abuse of office and gross misconduct and giving false information to the assembly and the public had been substantiated.
On June 6th, the Otiato committee conducted a hearing where witnesses testified, including the DG who got the opportunity to defend himself.
During the sittings, Oduol denied all the charges facing him, maintaining that he wasn't culpable in all the accusations.
The assembly didn't buy his defence.
With Thursday's developments, Oduol becomes the first DG to be impeached by the county assembly.
During his ten-year tenure, former governor Cornel Rasanga served Siaya with two deputies.
The deputies who successfully served under Rasanga were Ouma Onyango and Dr James Okumbe- both from Bondo sub-county.
But barely 8 months into their administration, Orengo-Oduol's political marriage has been hit by turbulence fueled by what seems to be irreconcilable differences.
Was the ticket a mistake?
Oduol insists his differences with his boss are purely ideological and not anything personal.
He says he is concerned about how the governor is managing the County affairs.
Oduol has persistently and publicly claimed that the current administration is riddled with corruption.
However, just like the MCAs, his boss too disagrees. Orengo has on numerous occasions dismissed Oduol for spewing "untruths"- laced with "malicious accusations".
The DG claims that attempts to reach out to the governor to have the identified weak Internal control challenges relating to finances fixed have fallen on deaf ears, forcing him to resort to speaking out publicly.
His corruption allegations against the young administration saw Oduol summoned in early May by the assembly's General oversight committee chaired by speaker George Okode to shed light and provide proof of what he knows.
He presented written submissions of what he described as a "dossier". The dossier was meant to back his graft claims before the assembly.
This was after he failed to get the opportunity to make oral presentations before the general oversight committee on a technicality.
However, the "evidence" was considered by the oversight committee, alongside responses from the county officers he adversely mentioned in his written submissions.
The Okode-led committee scrutinised the documents but the assembly threw out all allegations saying Oduol did not substantiate any of the graft claims he made against his boss and the administration.
Thereafter, a notice of impeachment motion quickly followed the assembly's verdict.
A chartered accountant and certified secretary, Dr Oduol in 2022 teamed up with Orengo in a ticket that brought hope to many Siaya residents who were yearning for transformation in the rural county.
He had been shining in the cooperate world while Orengo was a legal mind of high standing.
They inspired even more hope amongst the voters after they put together a progressive nine-point manifesto dubbed the Nyalore ( it is possible) which was to steer their administration upon ascending to office.
The embattled DG dropped his parliamentary bid for Alego Usonga's seat for the running mate's slot.
A few months into office and the question in the minds of many is what next for the man who gave Rasanga and ODM a run for their money in 2013's gubernatorial contest?
Although he failed in his bid to become governor, Oduol retained some influence in his vote-rich Alego Usonga Constituency.
It appeared he had his political life that had started waning back on track.
However, Oduol’s political career now takes a new trajectory - one that is replete with uncertainties. His fate now lies with the Senate.
The gruelling battle at the senate will be that of numbers between the Kenya Kwanza and Azimio coalition senators.
Kenya Kwanza has the numbers in the senate but political battles are never so clear and are unpredictable. They come with a lot of intrigues and enormous background lobbying.
It is worth noting that even before the impeachment process began properly at the assembly, a section of UDA senators appeared to have thrown their weight behind the embattled DG.
Nandi senator Samson Cherargei for instance said the impeachment proceedings at the county assembly of Siaya were sickening and nauseating.
In a tweet, the vocal senator said the senate would not approve the assembly's resolution if Oduol was impeached by the MCAs.
Kakamega senator Boni Khalwale who is the Senate chief whip also added his voice on the matter, promising to handle the issue without fear or favour when it gets to the floor of the Senate.
What options does Oduol have now given the new developments?
He has repeatedly said he won't resign stating that doing so would be a betrayal to the people of Siaya whom he said will have nobody to speak on their behalf.
This is despite mounting pressure from a section of ODM leaders, led by the minority leader in the national assembly Opiyo Wandayi who want him to resign.
On Wednesday, Siaya senator Dr Oburu Odinga and county woman representative Dr Christine Ombaka also urged Oduol to resign if he can't work with Orengo.
The DG appears to be doomed politically speaking, whichever way this goes.
If saved by the numerical strength of UDA in the senate, the DG will still have earned himself the Kenya Kwanza 'mole' tag.
Should he choose to go for an elective position in future polls, he will be viewed as a traitor, a sell-out by the ODM supporters in his backyard where the opposition party commands a formidable following.
There is the other matter of how will Oduol relate henceforth with his boss the governor when he is eventually saved by the senate.
How will the two top county leaders work harmoniously post the impeachment process at the Senate?
Will the Nyalore promise be realised with the two estranged politicians together?
The assembly, while adopting the committee report that recommended impeachment, noted that all the allegations facing Oduol had been substantiated.
Oduol was accused of allegedly bulldozing officers in the government department and procurement to renovate his office outside the budget.
He is also alleged to have pushed for the purchase of furniture for his office worth Sh 11.3 million while the allocation for furniture for the entire department for the 2022/2023 fiscal year was just Sh5.4 million.
Oduol was also impeached for misusing public resources.
He allegedly caused the county government to facilitate him to attend a personal trip to Mombasa for the ICPAK meeting, together with his entourage of three other officers whose relevance in the said meeting was questioned.
The MCAs also impeached the DG on account that he interfered with the procurement process by acts of bid-rigging in the Sh80 million certified seeds tender which was later cancelled after EACC instituted investigations.
Among other charges, Oduol was impeached after the assembly established that he allegedly gave misleading information to the assembly and the public in regard to the budgetary allocation for the ongoing construction of Siaya stadium.
The assembly stated that the stadium project had been allocated more money contrary to claims by the DG that money was reallocated to Migwena Stadium.