The Siaya Deputy Governor William Oduol has denied all the charges laid against him by the County Assembly before the Senate Special Committee investigating his proposed removal from office by impeachment.

Oduol told the Special Committee chaired by the Elgeyo Marakwet Senator William Kisang` that he was only a whistleblower who came out publicly to talk about the suspicious and huge withdrawal of money from the Siaya County coffers rubbishing the criteria used to impeach him.

“The nature of my impeachment at the County Assembly level was narrow, ill-informed, limited, misguided and choreographed to favour those abetting high crimes, I have been targeted simply because I am opposed to maladministration, I have challenged status quo and insisted on strict internal controls, I am the proverbial hunter that has become the hunted,” explained the Deputy Governor.

“The impeachment criteria lacked basic tenets of democracy, it betrays public trust and is full of false assertions, the allegations in the articles of impeachment are very Scandalous, Vexatious and frivolous,” he added.

He expressed his trust in the process by the Senate Special Committee appealing to the lawmakers to carry out the hearings.

“I have every confidence in the Senate and indeed this committee to carry out an impartial review, we cannot be talking of corruption at the national level and want to close our eyes and block our ears to corruption in Siaya,” he submitted.

The County Assembly of Siaya in its opening remarks and submissions in today`s hearings accused the Deputy Governor of ignoring procurement laws and forcing Procurement officers to bend the procedure of procurement in order to benefit him. 

In their allegations, they cited the purchasing of a chair worth 1.12 million shillings and several other transactions amounting to about 18 million shillings which they said was illegally expended for the comfort of the Deputy Governor.

“The Deputy Governor interfered with the procurement of contractors for various road projects in the County and that of Supply and delivery of Certified Seed and Fertilizer contrary to provisions of Section 47(1) of Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015,” submitted the County Assembly through its first witness MCA Francis Otiato.

“The Deputy Governor, banking on the authority of his office, forced incurring of expenses of approximately Ksh 18 million for purposes of renovating his office (interior and exterior works), purchase of furniture and office equipment an expenditure that was not in the budget and therefore not in the procurement plan,” he emphasized.

Further, the County Assembly accused the Deputy Governor of misuse of public resources, bullying of a section of the County employees and dissemination of false information to the public.

“The Deputy Governor demanded constant and repeated briefings not only on matters of Procurement but also on matters of Finance, it was on record that he constantly and persistently demanded information on county financial transactions directly from the Ag. Chief Officer for Finance and Economic Planning – Mr. Jack Odinga, despite the fact that Mr. Odinga was not directly answerable to him in his duties and responsibilities,” explained the witness.

The County Assembly`s legal team is led by Advocate Willis Otieno and has lined up 4 witnesses to support the case.

The Deputy Governor`s legal team is led by Advocate Nyamodi and is expected to present 2 witnesses to counter the accusations this Thursday.

Members of the Special Committee are Sen. William Kisang of Elgeyo Marakwet County (Chairperson), Sen. Betty Batuli Montet (Vice Chairperson), Sen. Abass Mohamed of Wajir County, Sen. Mwenda Gataya Mo Fire of Tharaka Nithi County, Sen. Tabitha Mutinda, Sen. Raphael Chimera Mwinzagu, Sen. Miraj Abdullahi Abdulrahman, Nyamira County Senator Erick Okong’o Omogeni, SC, Sen. Catherine Mumma, Sen. Daniel Maanzo of Makueni County and Kisii County Senator Richard Onyonka.

Today`s hearings were also attended by Senators Stewart Madzayo, Moses Kajwang`, Oburu Oginga, Edwin Sifuna, Enoch Wambua, Hamida Kibwana and Gem Member of Parliament Elisha Odhiambo.