Editor's Review

  • Senator James Orengo addressed reports that his political career could be o its knees for differing with his party's stand on the BBI Bill.

Siaya Senator James Orengo has hit out at his critics amid claims that he is facing wrangles with ODM Party.

The Senator vowed to carry out his duties in the Upper House without being influenced by outside forces and warned his political critics.

The Minority Leader explained that he is not intimidated adding that his political career cannot make himself his conscience.

“I can never be intimidated in my political life because I have seen powerful people come and go, I have seen Presidents come and go,” Orengo said.

“If my day comes I will accept it, but my conscience, the way I was brought up I can never sell it, I would never,” he added.

His sentiments come after ODM Party set out a statement dismissing rumours that Orengo could be removed as the Minority Leader for going against the party's stance on the BBI Bill.

In a statement of Wednesday evening, Raila’s Spokesperson Dennis Onyango termed the reports as baseless, noting that they should be ignored completely.

“Following changes effected yesterday to the representation of the Orange Democratic Movement in the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, there has been unfounded and widespread speculation that the Party is about to change its Minority leadership in the Senate.

“We wish to clarify that Rt. Hon Raila Odinga, the ODM Party Leader, and the Orange Democratic Movement have no plans to replace Senator James Orengo as the Leader of Minority in the Senate,” Onyango’s statement read in part.

This was after ODM made changes to its composition in the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly replacing Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo with his Ruaraka counterpart TJ Kajwang.

Pundits believe that Otiende was replaced because of his stand on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) where he has been calling for the amendment of the document by Parliament.