Siaya Deputy Governor William Oduol Unveils Startling Discovery of ‘Unprecedented’ Cash Withdrawals within Governor Orengo’s Office
William Oduol, the Deputy Governor (DG) of Siaya, has discussed his ongoing conflict with Governor James Orengo.
Friday on Citizen TV’s Day Break program, Oduol stated that he has no animosity towards Orengo and that the differences between himself and the governor of Siaya are purely ideological.
“The disagreement I have with Orengo is ideological, not personal. During the campaign and our first few months in office, we had a shared sense of purpose. So when we began, we began well, and along the way, events transpired,” said Oduel.
Oduol added that the point of divergence between him and Orengo occurred when he observed abnormal withdrawals from Siaya County’s imprest fund at the end of November 2022.
“Because of my background in finance, I would periodically review the county’s finances. “Towards the end of November, I began to observe abnormally large withdrawals from the imprest account,” he stated.
Oduol summoned Siaya County’s finance officers to explain the anomalous withdrawals, but they initially pretended ignorance.
However, when he threatened to report the matter to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the finance officers allegedly confessed.
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“They admitted to withdrawing cash and transporting it to the governor’s office for county operations,” said Oduol.
The Siaya DG then questioned Orengo regarding the withdrawals, but the Siaya Governor allegedly dismissed his questions.
“When I asked the Governor, he stated that he was not the one authorizing the withdrawals,” Oduol explained.
Because he confronted Orengo, Oduol asserts that he believed the irregular withdrawals would cease, so he dropped the matter. Nevertheless, transactions continued, according to Oduol.
“Ksh.46 million was withdrawn from the imprest account in November, Ksh.41 million in December, and more than Ksh.20 million in January 2023. Oduol told show host Trevor Ombija, “I have bank statements and purchase orders to back up these claims.”
More than 100 million Kenyan shillings were withdrawn from the imprest account in just three months.
When he presented his findings to the Siaya County Assembly, county officials allegedly claimed he lacked evidence to support his claims.
“They ignored my findings on purpose and focused on legality.” According to the Public Finance Management (PMF) Act, it is acceptable for counties to open imprest accounts, so nothing unusual occurred. This was not my primary concern; rather, I wanted to bring up the abnormally large withdrawals,” he explained.
Since there are no audit trails, according to Oduol, it is easier for county officials to siphon funds from imprest accounts.
“Imprest has a very limited audit trail because, to withdraw funds from the account, you only need to sign checks. “Since the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMIS) goes through the budget controller, you will be asked a lot of questions,” Oduol said.
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Opiyo Wandayi, ODM’s Secretary for Political Affairs, has since requested that Oduol resigns from his position as a result of the discord between him and Orengo, which culminated in a violent disturbance at a recent funeral the two men attended.
In the incident on May 13. Mourners were forced to flee the burial of the late chairman of the Siaya County Public Service Board, Elijah Achoch. After youth allied with Orengo interrupted Oduol while addressing the mourners with tear gas and gunfire.
The presiding bishop was compelled to cut short the program and expel all the leaders because the rival groups engaged in vicious attacks.
Additionally, a petition has been submitted against Orengo for allegedly demoting Oduol.
In the petition filed by Peter Agoro, Erick Onyango, and Elizabeth Akinyi, the three claim that the vice-governor has been denied the necessities to live with human dignity and meet his daily needs.
They want the court to order Orengo to reinstate Oduol’s privileges and responsibilities so that he can continue serving the Siaya people.
Siaya Deputy Governor William Oduol Unveils Startling Discovery of ‘Unprecedented’ Cash Withdrawals within Governor Orengo’s Office
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