Siaya Governor James Orengo has made a stunning revelation about who bankrolled the recent ODM party retreat in Mombasa, claiming that President William Ruto personally funded the entire event, from air tickets and hotel accommodation to allowances for those who attended.
Speaking on JKL Live, Orengo was unsparing in his assessment of the current state of ODM, describing what he sees as a deliberate effort by some within the party to sell it off cheaply to the highest bidder, and pointing directly at President Ruto as the willing buyer.
Orengo said it is no longer a secret that Ruto has been deeply involved in ODM’s internal affairs. He pointed to the fact that the party has been holding meetings at State House, with the President presiding, as well as at his private residence in Kilgoris.
And now, he alleges, Ruto has gone as far as funding a party retreat that was supposed to be an internal ODM affair.
The air tickets, the hotel bills, and the allowances for the Mombasa workshop, Orengo claimed, were all paid for by Ruto.
He reserved particular criticism for the Linda Ground faction, which he says is simultaneously claiming to be part of the broad-based government while also making financial demands from that same government.
For Orengo, the contradiction is glaring. You cannot be a participant in a government and then turn around and demand payment from it as though you are an outside party.
His conclusion was blunt. The orange, as he put it, is not split.
But there are people inside the party who are trying to sell it for a few coins, and he made clear that he and his allies have no intention of allowing that to happen.
