ORENGO; 'BROAD BASED NONSENSE '

Saiya Governor, James Orengo has questioned circumstances under which former premier, Raila Odinga has ended up into post election coalitions with his presidential rivals.

Speaking in Siaya on Wednesday, April 30, Orengo alleged that Raila has always been robbed of his presidential win , but later own join the same government that robbed him instead of seeking justice.
Stating this, he remarked Raila's handshake deals with Kenya's third president, the late Mwai Kibaki after the 2007/08 post election violence, former president Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018 and even the current president, William Ruto.

The enraged governor poked holes in the most recent Ruto-Raila pact, which was formalised upon signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in March, stating that such political outfits lack any democratic sense and justify electoral malpractices.

"We are living in a country where the most popular man in the country for the last 20 years, Raila Odinga, cannot win an election because it is being stolen all the time. We are forced to enter into deals and transactions that do not make sense. The struggle is going to be more difficult, " the governor said.

Orengo further termed Kenyan politics as influenced by archaic practices based on ethnic lines, that cannot help the nation.
He continued expressing his discontentment with the reconstitution of the IEBC, questioning their capacity to conduct credible elections come 2027.

"I am asking the Kenyan people that we should be like other democracies where people fight for their rights and what belongs to them. That is how we can take Kenya forward. Not by this silly politics we are being engaged in. Now, even in the political field now, 60 years, Kenya is a republic and the only strategy we can think about winning elections at the national level is to form ethnic coalitions, tribal coalitions. Tribal coalitions, that is not going to help. Right now in Kenya, the last free and fair election that we had was in 2002. If we are not careful, even this election that is coming is not going to be free and fair. I am looking at it critically. Even with this new IEBC, I can see the membership that is going to come out of this process. I am sure that unless they are constitutionally anchored and allowed the space, Kenya is not going to have free and fair elections. It is not going to have free and fair elections," he stated.

Days back, Orengo went critical on Ruto's administration, particularly on its response to devolution. His criticism met a harsh rejoinder from other Ruto allies, Oscar Sudi , Kapsaret MP and Kipchumba Murkomen, CS interior included.
However, Raila defended his long time ally, stating that he is democratically free to speak and devolution is among the principles of ODM.