• 15 Jubilee MPs on Tuesday said Raila is silently eyeing Ruto’s seat and is behind Orengo’s censure motion to have the DP removed.
• Siaya Senator maintains the DP's impeachment motion is about gross misconduct and corruption cases.
Siaya Senator James Orengo has said ODM leader Raila Odinga had nothing to do with impeachment remarks he made on Deputy President William Ruto over the weekend.
A section Jubilee MPs allied to Ruto claimed that the opposition chief was hiding behind the purported impeachment to take over the Deputy President position.
The 15 MPs on Tuesday said Raila is silently eyeing Ruto’s seat and is behind Orengo’s censure motion to have Ruto removed.
But Orengo dismissed these claims.
"It is me speaking; Raila has his mouth and I got my mouth When I am speaking on behalf of Raila (which I have done before), I’ll say as much!"Orengo said.
"I don't know whether Raila shares the sentiments and particularly knowing that I was saying it as Orengo. These were my views and I can tell you that when I moved a motion of no confidence of [former President], Moi, it was my motion."
The Senate Minority Leader said Ruto should be investigated over links to corruption allegations.
He maintained that the DP's impeachment motion is about gross misconduct and corruption cases.
"I think he should be investigated…it is not just about what he has been linked to but also what he has admitted to. And if he cannot be investigated then the parliamentary process is another tool," he said.
"...and that is the parliamentary process, it will be done like a motion of no confidence. And it is a political process."
Orengo said the DP’s castigation of government agencies mandated to fight corruption amounted to insubordination, which he said was gross misconduct.
It is not just about what he has been linked to but also what he has admitted to.Siaya Senator James Orengo
Orengo said the list of corruption cases linking Ruto was too long and that they needed an explanation.
"The list is very long...what he has admitted are like the hotel next to the airport (Weston) and now on these two dams which he said only Sh7b was lost," he said.
"That is a matter that needs an explanation. He is not being investigated because we are not prepared to deal with grand corruption yet."
Last month, Ruto denied reports that the Sh21 billion allocated to the dams had vanished.
"You' have heard that the government has lost about Sh21 billion which is a flat lie! The money in question is about Sh7 billion, and for every coin that has been paid, we have a bank guarantee," Ruto said.
Asked why he is on DP Ruto’s case, Orengo said, “I am on the deputy president’s case because the president made a decision and with the new energy and statements he has made, I am persuaded that he is committed on the war against corruption.”
“But when it comes to the DP, even after the war on corruption was launched, you open newspapers every other day and the stories you read about the deputy president it’s as if that war is not being fought,” Orengo said.