Raila’s Surprise Encounter with Orengo, Otiende debunks BBI Fall-out Myth

ODM leader Raila Odinga has met Senate Minority Leader James Orengo. Raila reportedly met Orengo on Monday alongside Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo, Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya and his Kitui counterpart Charity Ngilu.

The meeting between the five raised eye-brows with a few people praising Oparanya and Ngilu for mediating the crisis that had befell ODM. Raila hosted the guests at his Karen home. The meeting was held a day before the Senate BBI Bill vote. 

BBI Bill was overwhelmingly voted for in the National Assembly last week. Surprisingly, former Justice Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) Vice Chairperson Otiende Amollo was among legislators who ratified the Bill.

“I had a great chat this morning with Governor Charity Ngilu and Governor Wycliffe Oparanya together with Senator James Orengo whom I hosted for brunch. Thanks for dropping by,” Raila tweeted. Orengo would later describe the meeting as “very refreshing to catch up with my Party Leader Raila Odinga, Governor Oparanya and Ngilu.”

ODM Party acknowledged the meeting citing that it was meant to discuss about the unity of the party among other matters.

Orengo’s Bone of Contention

In the recent past there have been persistent claims that ODM was split over the BBI proposal to create 70 additional constituencies. Orengo had downplayed the manner in which the constituencies were allocated, citing that Mt. Kenya region stood to benefit a lot as compared to other regions.

The joint rebuttal by Senator Orengo and Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo caught the attention of Orange House. Amollo was axed from the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee and replaced with Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang’.

There were murmurs that Orengo was the next person on the chopping board. Last week, the enraged Orengo told the Senate that he will not be intimidated.

“I can never be intimidated in my political life. I have seen powerful people come and go. I will never sell my conscience,” Orengo stated in the Floor of the Senate.

Before his alleged fall-out with Raila, Orengo had warned him against sacrificing his political soul.

“In Kenya’s politics life really imitates art but the artist is a conspiracy theorist with a hypothesized fanciful narrative fed as news or fact. Before the big lie unfolds, public debate on the big issues of the day is just a shouting match. Full of sound and fury signifying nothing,” Orengo complained.