Business in Raila Odinga's hometown of Bondo, Siaya County, came to a standstill on Saturday as hundreds of residents took to the streets to protest Governor James Orengo’s continued attacks on the working relationship between Odinga and President William Ruto.
The residents carrying twigs and placards demanded that the governor make a political U-turn and apologise to the Orange Democratic Movement de facto over his recent remarks. He has continued to criticise the working partnership between his party boss and Ruto.
According to the residents, it was wrong for the governor to criticise the partnership, maintaining that it was a disrespect for the party.
Further, they demanded that should Orengo fail to meet the demands, he should resign and give a chance for a new county chief to be elected in the country.
The residents drew parallels to a political standoff witnessed in 2015 during the burial of Raila Odinga’s son, Fidel Odinga, where Governor James Orengo told thousands of mourners that he would not join the 'bandwagon of praise and worship' following Raila’s handshake with then-President Uhuru Kenyatta.
"We, as the people of Bondo, have decided that we will not accept the position taken by James Orengo. He did a similar thing during the burial of Fidel Odinga, and he still wants to repeat a similar thing. We will not accept it," a resident stated during the demos.
In their demands, the demonstrators asked that the ODM party take disciplinary action against the governor for openly appearing to defy the party's position.
They alleged that despite Orengo appearing to defy the party’s position, which they believed would foster development in the Nyanza region, he had, in his capacity as Siaya Governor, done little to improve the county.
Last week, Orengo boldly told ODM supporters in front of Raila and Ruto that they should stand up and battle for their rights.
"I cannot be a praise-singer. We fought for a democratic constitution where people should speak freely. I urge Kenyans to tell their leaders the truth. This country will go to the dogs again if the kind of language we hear continues," Orengo asserted.
''If anything is brought to Siaya County, it will be as a matter of right, not as a favour,'' Orengo maintained, adding, ''There is a need to battle for your rights, and you will still have a better country.''
Orengo’s remarks have equally rubbed some ODM members the wrong way, with Budget Committee Chair and Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi accusing Orengo of pulling a confrontational streak with the broad-based government arrangement and painting the ODM party in a bad light.
''Orengo has always thrived in the opposition; he uses it to evade accountability,'' stated Atandi.
