Members of the Siaya County Assembly (MCAs) have threatened to launch an impeachment motion against Governor James Orengo and announced an immediate boycott of all executive functions following controversial remarks the governor allegedly made in Homa Bay County.
Led by Assembly leadership and the Women Caucus, the MCAs accused Orengo of undermining women in leadership and making “sexist” public remarks targeted at Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) National Chairperson Gladys Wanga.
Addressing the press at the county assembly precincts, Siaya Assembly Majority Leader Martin Otieno demanded a public apology from the county boss, declaring that the assembly would sever working ties with the executive until the matter is resolved.
”To be in solidarity with our able chair Gladys Wanga, we are not attending any function at the executive until our governor comes back and puts an apology to the party chair of ODM,” Otieno said.
The Majority Leader also directed the assembly’s leadership to initiate disciplinary actions against any local party members who have aligned themselves with the utterances or defied the party’s leadership structure.
Escalating the political standoff, Majority Chief Whip Booker Bonyo announced that he would begin mobilizing lawmakers to remove the governor from office.
”I, as the whip, want you members to allow me to whip you to impeach Orengo,” Bonyo said, asserting that legislative oversight dictates holding the executive accountable. “The constitution allows that he can be impeached. I’m going to collect signatures for Orengo to be impeached because we cannot have a rogue governor.”
The legislative backlash comes amid rising temperatures regarding public remarks made during a recent political event in neighboring Homa Bay County.
Women leaders in the assembly expressed deep disappointment, stating that the governor’s remarks bordered on sexual harassment and severely undermined gender equality campaigns in the region.
Nominated MCA Cynthia Akinyi, who represents gender interests, stated that the governor’s actions fell short of his status as a national statesman and senior legal mind.
”Someone who is mentoring everyone in the political space cannot get on top of a vehicle and start talking the kind of sexist [language] and making women objects of sex,” Akinyi said. “For me, that was sexual harassment, and he needs to be called out. He needs to come out and apologize.”
Akinyi also questioned the presence and silence of the county’s executive gender advisor during the Homa Bay event, suggesting the executive was complicit in belittling female leaders.
Echoing her sentiments, South East Alego MCA and Chairperson of the Siaya Women Caucus, Mercedes Scholastic Madowo, condemned the governor’s language as unacceptable for a public official. She emphasized that female elected leaders occupy their positions by right and deserve institutional respect.
”We condemn the statements by the governor. We condemn the statement by any man who tries to belittle women,” Madowo said. “There is nothing sexual about leadership. We are leaders in our own right, we are qualified, we got elected by our people, and we deserve respect.”
Madowo added that the caucus has previously stood up against derogatory language targeting the governor’s own family, proving that their current stand is based on principle rather than political bias. “When he does wrong, we must call him out. Today, we call out Governor Orengo and say what you said was wrong, and we expect an apology.”
By the time of going to press, the Office of the Governor had not issued an official response to the assembly’s boycott or the threatened impeachment proceedings.
