Mourners Forced to Flee as Supporters of Orengo and His Deputy Clash

Police were obliged to lob teargas canisters during the burial of Siaya public service board chairman Dr Elijah Achoch when conflict ensued between supporters of Siaya governor, James Orengo, and his Deputy William Oduol on Saturday, May 13.

From Saturday morning, tension was already high with the presence of anti-riot police in the village ahead of the burial. Governor Orengo's deputy arrived at the burial at 2.30 earlier than Orengo. The two had differed over the management of the county with three activists lodging a case at the Milimani High Court seeking clarity on the issue.

Bishop John Mark Godia of the ACK, Maseno West diocese was heading the burial service when chaos erupted, disrupting the funeral service. Governor Orengo arrived alongside Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi and proceeded to share words of encouragement with the bereaved family before taking his seat. Bishop Godia had already warned against political statements.

When the bishop allowed DG Oduol to speak, a section of the youths lamented the move and began heckling. Mourners evacuated the scene as the youths from both the governor and deputy governor teams confronted each other at the podium. The bishop tried in vain to bring the function to normalcy, and when the situation culminated, the police lobbed teargas and fired in the air to disrupt the rowdy youths.

The Governor's director of Public communications Ben Agina said that the goons were ferried outside Siaya to cause mayhem at the funeral service.

"The governor won't allow himself to be dragged into pettiness that is of no benefit to the people of Siaya whose main concern is how the county government can improve their wellbeing," Agina said.