Siaya governor James Orengo has blasted his political detractors in Nyanza for allegedly sponsoring his humiliation at the funeral service of Seme MP James Nyikal’s father.
Nyanza prominent politicians gathered at the Ridore Primary School grounds Saturday, May 2, for the send-off service of Mzee Eliud Nyikal Okaka.
The solemn ceremony turned into a political spectacle after Orengo and his entourage were heckled and taken out of the tent shortly after the governor’s arrival.
The service was momentarily disrupted by the noise from opposing sides, and the interventions by the clergy would not remedy a thing.
Kisumu governor Anyang’ Nyong’o intervened, blasting the rival factions for turning a funeral event into a platform of political showdown. Orengo and his team left before normalcy would return.
Speaking about the events moments later, Orengo blasted his detractors of advancing political intolerance.
He claimed that the hostility was due to his stance against the current regime in power, which the ODM leadership has vowed to support.
The governor aligns with the Linda Mwananchi group, which majorly comprises ODM rebels who vowed never to support President William Ruto’s regime and his re-election bid.
Orengo blasted state operatives and government sympathisers for going after those they perceive opposers of the regime. In the face of such intolerance, he vowed not to relent in his stance against the government, adding that he would not ditch the Linda Mwananchi group to please his opponents.
“It is both shameful and a national disgrace that a solemn send off could be disrupted by the State and its luckys so rattled by the people’s unity that it resorted to unleashing goons. The situation became so tense that the clergy had to cut the service short, calling for an immediate burial without speeches to preserve order and dignity. But let it be clearly understood; no amount of intimidation, no teargas, no hired chaos, and no acts of desperation will silence the Linda Mwananchi Movement. Linda Mwananchi is a force of the people unstoppable, unshaken, and unwavering in its mission to defend and uplift the voice of every Kenyan,” he said.
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Later, the politicians aligned with the broad-based goverment used their oppurtunities to speak to disabused Orengo’s politics of opposition, stating that their current political leaning was blessed by the late Raila Odinga long before his demise last October.
Homa Bay governor Gladys Wanga declared that the Nyanza region electorate will not heed the call to go back to the streets against the current regime in power.
She noted that the region’s political population had been in the streets in the past causes, noting that the time had come for them to sit back and be part of the government.
Wanga, ODM’s national chairperson, said ther party would not direct its supporters into opposition yet again, adding that the focus is on forming the next government, likely as partners with the Ruto-led United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party
