Orengo was speaking on Sunday during a church service at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Milimani, which he attended alongside Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and other Linda Mwananchi leaders.
“This opulence of carrying money in sacks is too much. We know exactly what these public servants earn, and the law is that if you have unexplained wealth, EACC should investigate,” Orengo said.
“If you are a businessman and you contribute such amounts, KRA should be at your door. There is no way even a president can contribute Ksh 100 million in one weekend. Let us be sincere, it is your money being given back to you. It is bribery.”
He cited the case of a collapsed bridge in Migori that he said had never been rebuilt, even as leaders continued to raise millions at public functions.
The veteran politician further revealed that the late Raila Odinga had spoken to him two days before his death, denying that he had made a contribution that had been announced at a fundraiser.
“I asked him if he sent any money that was announced by Kindiki in some fundraiser. Raila said he never contributed anything,” Orengo said, likening the current trend to the practices of the Moi era.
“Let politicians not bribe instead of doing things. They should answer questions in future on why they are doing what they are doing.”
Orengo also accused unnamed leaders of attempting to lock out a section of the country from national affairs.
“These guys are building some type of wall so that Kenyans do not communicate with each other. We must be part of the national conversation. Some people are trying to isolate us,” he said.
Turning to the affairs of his party, Orengo claimed that ODM had been “captured” and was no longer the outfit it once was, while praising Sifuna as one of its strongest voices.
“Sifuna has been the best performing leader after Raila and Orengo,” he said, urging the senator to remain steadfast amid internal party tensions.
Declaring himself the de facto party leader of ODM, Orengo vowed that the party would remain united and would not field a candidate cut from the same cloth as President William Ruto.
“We shall not offer another Ruto. We shall present a patriotic person. And if that person is Orengo we will work, if it is Sifuna we will work,” he said.
He also issued a warning over the conduct of future polls, pointing to reported incidents of bribery, violence and hate in Ol Kalou.
“If that happens next year, we are not going to have an election,” he said.
