Leaders allied to Siaya governor James Orengo took another swipe at his deputy William Oduol for allegedly ‘fighting’ his boss in public over ‘his own selfish interests’.

Led by Alego/Usonga Member of Parliament (MP) Samwel Atandi, the leaders asked Oduol to cease attacking Orengo if he wants to remain relevant in Siaya.

“The DG is burning his own fingers when he engages Orengo in a public spat. We were the leaders who brought him to the discussion table when Orengo was seeking a deputy. ODM leader Raila Odinga and other senior politicians were against him therefore disparaging his boss is impacting negatively on us too,” Atandi stated.

Atandi who was speaking during a burial ceremony at Yenga in Ugenya sub-county also warned that the worse would befall Oduol if he persists with the attacks.

“We are sure that Orengo will run the affairs of Siaya in the next ten years and we have no doubt about that because Oduol has lost grip of Alego,” Atandi stated adding that the six MCAs whose wards fall in the constituency determined the votes for Alego.

On his part, Orengo while underscoring that the war was not about the Siaya people noted that his deputy was fighting him because he refused to endorse initiatives that aims at benefitting him individually.

“Without Alego/Usonga votes, I would not be governor for Siaya. The majority of Alego people have formed a big stake in my government,” Orengo said.

The County boss said that his Chief of Staff Col. Cyrus Oguna, County Secretary Joseph Ogutu, Political Advisor Oloo Okanda, Agriculture Executive Sylvestor Kokoth, Water Executive Dr Caroline Onyango, Trade Executive Grace Agola, Education Chief Officer Henry Ouma, Roads Chief Officer James Onyango, Gender Advisor to the governor Winnie Atieno among others have come from Alego/Usonga.

Orengo said he was not ready to engage with his DG on the public spat but was keen on seeing to it that Alego and parts of Siaya get services as that would be part of the scorecard.

“The DG is trying to destruct me by raising unnecessary issues but that won’t thwart my bid to deliver services to the good people of Siaya,” Orengo added.

Oduol’s response

In his response, Oduol said he was not fighting Orengo as was claimed by certain quarters but he was raising concerns of the Alego people with regard to the state of Siaya stadium, construction of the governor, speaker and deputy governor’s residences at Got Akara.

Oduol said the animosity that is threatening to widen the gap between him and the boss is fuelled by politicians keen on clipping his wings so as to frustrate his future political ambitions.