“I am the Proverbial Hunter that has Become Hunted” Oduol Speaks of his Impeachment

Embattled Siaya Deputy Governor William Oduol in his opening statement to the Adhoc Committee investigating his impeachment motion said his quest to control the siphoning of funds in Siaya County is what instigated the accusations leveled against him.

Oduol dismissed allegations leveled against him by the Siaya County Assembly terming it as a situation of ‘hunter become hunted.’

The Siaya leader stated that in November 2022, he flagged huge amounts withdrawal on imprest by the acting Chief Finance Officer Jack Odinga which had contravened the Public Finance Management Act and the Central Bank Regulations.

He further reported that the odd huge withdrawal from the imprest happened on close frequency showing efforts to escape the audit trail.

“There is restriction to how much you can withdraw from imprest. Most transaction for audit trail must pass through IFMIS so that you can track and establish the reasonable of the spend. When you transfer recurrent expenditure to audit you lose the audit trail,” said Oduol.

He noted that after threatening to involve the Ethics and Anti—Corruption Commission, the CFO claimed the withdrawals which amounted to Sh100 million were channeled to Governor James Orengo.

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“He told the committee that he would withdraw the money and take it to the governor James Orengo, but I was not convinced. I decided to inquire with Orengo who said he wasn’t receiving the money, but I knew if he was doing it would act as deterrent,” Oduol told the committee.

According to the embattled deputy governor, a sum of Sh100 million had been withdrawn in a period of three months.

As such, the squabble between Oduol and Governor James Orengo began when he questioned him over the abnormal imprest withdrawal.

Likewise, Oduol claimed his impeachment was choregraphed and misguided only because he was opposed to maladministration.

“I have challenged the status quo. I am the proverbial hunter that has become hunted. The grooming of political lines informs and coils the impeachment motion against me,” he said.

Nonetheless, the evidence tabled before the Senate Adhoc committee investigating the impeachment motion against Siaya Deputy Governor William Oduol claims he embezzled Sh18 million of the taxpayer’s monies.

Siaya County Assembly Counsel Willis Otieno in his opening remarks outlined how the Deputy Governor embezzled county funds to renovate his office for personal comfort.

“The county had spent Sh18 million of the taxpayer’s monies for the personal comfort of an individual. We will demonstrate that Sh18 million constitutes 20 percent of the county’s bursary allocation,” said Otieno.