Leaked reports claim that brazen cartels with Orange house links swindled embattled Siaya governor Cornel Rasanga a whopping sh.20 million with fake assurance of party ticket.
The controversial governor who is serving his second term has been bragging how he will secure an ODM party ticket to run for Alego/Usonga parliamentary seat in next year’s election.
Apart from coughing the mouthwatering cash, Rasanga reportedly promised to take charge and finance the party activities in Siaya County ahead of the next general elections.
Apparently, the governor who has acquired a new name, Mr. Moneybag, roped in the local party officials into the plot to produce a line-up.
The local officials led by Chairman Oloo Okanda were made to believe that the deal to give the besieged governor a direct party ticket was an official communication from the party headquarter, with full blessings of Raila Odinga.
It’s within the same understanding that Rasanga and his team went a step further to manufacture a secret 2022 election line-up.
It was not immediately clear whether Raila was aware of the toxic secret line-up.
However, the ODM party was forced to furiously distance itself from the drama as part of damage control amidst outpouring protest from voters and other potential candidates who feared that the line-up was work against their political ambitions.
The alleged line-up triggered a national debate and portrayed Raila as an individual who was not keen on democracy by preaching water at the national level while drinking alcohol at local level as exposed by the events in his own Siaya backyard.
In the disputed line-up, Siaya Senator James Orengo was earmarked for gubernatorial position while Raila’s brother Oburu Odinga was to be installed as the new area Senator.
According to the initial game plan, Orengo and Oburu were to declare their support to Rasanga for the Alego/ Usonga parliamentary seat currently held by Samuel Atandi.
In exchange, Rasanga was to support Orengo’s gubernatorial ambitions the late Jakoyo Midiwo was to be brought in as a replacement of the current Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo.
Pundits point out that the withdrawal of Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi from the gubernatorial race ahead of the controversial list was enough to give credibility to the claims that top party officials were aware of such development.
Observers noted that the arrangement managed to reunite some of the politicians who did not initially see eye to eye.
Take for example the case of Rasanga who has been an open critic of Orengo but in abrupt change of tune declared his total love to the Senator.
According to the expectations, Orengo should therefore be supporting Rasanga in the race to unseat Atandi.
On the other hand, the political greenhorn Jalang’o Midiwo is also to be aided by the team to unseat an equally controversial Elisha Odhiambo in Gem constituency.
But when the secret pact leaked, it was immediately blamed on Rasanga who is accused of being unable to make the matter secret until opportune time as was agreed during their oath taking.
Apparently an overexcited Rasanga is said to have resorted into discussing the matter with all and sundry, detailing how it was a done deal for him as far as Alego/Usonga seat was concerned.
At the same time he openly discussed the line-up of the perceived favoured candidates by the ODM in the next general elections.
The party headquarters and by tension Raila is said to be very bitter with Rasanga for the kind of confusion he has created among the aspirants and voters.
In fact, some aspirants even threatened to sabotage the ongoing voter registration process in the event the party did not state its position over the matter.
It’s against this background that ODM through national chairman John Mbadi and secretary general Edwin Sifuna were forced to distance the party from the purported line up.
But strangely, days after communication from the top party officials, a defiant Rasanga organized a function at his Segere home in the disguise of welcoming defectors from Wiper to ODM.
This raised eyebrows, the reason being that he was not the party official while questions were also being asked how official party function would be hosted at his private home at the expense of the party offices.
Those who attended the Sigere function were treated to more shock when an evidently emotional Rasanga took to the podium and once agains declared his support to Orengo, as vested in the controversial line-up.
His statement was like adding salt to injury and was apparently designed to remind critics of the deal of how much they were voiceless as far as the party matters were concerned.
According to Rasanga, it was Raila who installed him as the Siaya governor and as a result the ODM leader had instructed him to pass the mantle to Siaya Senator.
This did not go down well with the voters as well as top party officials who are not amused by the damaging level of his arrogance.
To this effect, Orengo immediately emerged to deny that he was in any pact with Rasanga but reiterated that he would work closely with Atandi and Elisha ahead of the next general elections.
It’s important to note that the trio, Orengo, Atandi and Elisha were at one point accused of working with the deputy president William Ruto to undermine President Uhuru Kenyatta and his handshake brother, Raila.
Orengo and his team shocked men when they went around Nyanza in a chopper criticizing the handshake between Uhuru and Raila and by extension the BBI.
The late Jakoyo Midiwo exposed them by stating that the chopper in which they were using to crisscross the region in a rare war against Raila was being sponsored by Ruto.
They never refuted such claims strongly and apparently that could be the same reason why ODM is out to punish Atandi and Elisha while Orengo is being fatten for future action.
Word has it that Raila had already blacklisted Orengo but it took the intervention of Kituyu governor Charity Ngilu and his Meru counterpart Kiaraitu Murungi who begged the ODM leader to give Orengo a second chance.
Recently, Kakamega governor also claimed that he played a central role in reuniting Orengo and Raila, after it emerged that the Siaya senator was a traitor who was operating from the inner circle.
But as the saying goes, a week is a long time in politics, Orengo’s fortune has changed drastically from the allegations of being a mole to probably the party’s choice in the gubernatorial race.
This is why many found it laughable when in attempts to distance himself from the line-up, Orengo bluntly said he was yet to declare interest in any political position ahead of the next general elections.
On the contrary, Orengo has heightened political activities on the ground and at one point clashed with former police spokesman man Charles Owino who told him to concentrate on working with Raila at national politics instead of focusing on local politics.
It appears that voters love Orengo at national politics but have a big issue with him when it comes to local politics.
According to their own argument, Orengo has successfully rotated in elective positions for over three decades but has nothing tangible to show for it in terms of development.
He went into celebration mode when Wandayi, who is a perceived development conscious, bolted out the race citing his need to support Raila at the national politics.
Orengo has embarked on silently laughing at Raila’s sister Adhiambo Odinga who was a known staunch supporter of Wandayi’s gubernatorial candidature.
Weekly Citizen is informed that the voters have vowed to shoot down the perceived ODM line-up and in particular plan to teach Orengo an everlasting political lesson by overwhelmingly voting for Owino in whichever party he rides on .
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