By Joshua Cheloti

Controversial lawyer Miguna Miguna now wants both the current and former Siaya governors to be held accountable for the loss of millions of public funds.

Miguna in a tweet on March 22, 2023, said Governor James Orengo is equally responsible for the Ksh1 billion that he claims was lost during the reign of his predecessor Cornel Rasanga.

According to the Canadian-based barrister, Orengo failed in executing his oversight role when he served as Siaya Senator – with Rasanga as governor.

He argues that as a Senator, it was his role to prevent the theft of public funds in the Siaya County Government.

Miguna Miguna now wants both Orengo and Rasanga jailed for life over the loss of the money meant for public use.

“My friend @orengo_james wails that Cornel Rasanga LOOTED Ksh. 1 Billion out of Ksh. 3 Billion annual Siaya County budget, yet he was the senator responsible for OVERSIGHTING Rasanga to prevent such THEFT. Both should be jailed for life,” he posted on his verified Twitter handle.

Rasanga served as the Siaya Governor for two terms – from 2013 to 2022 – the same period Orengo was the Senator.

In the August 2022 general election, the former Gem Member of Parliament was elected the second governor of Siaya.

But immediately after he took the oath of office, Orengo set up a special task force to audit the use of funds in the county.

The task force later found out that Ksh1 billion could have been misappropriated during Rasanga’s last two financial years.

A report by the task force submitted in December 2022 indicates that Ksh600 million might have been embezzled in the 2020/2021 financial year and Ksh400 million in the 2021/2022 financial year.

Among the issues that the special audit task force unearthed include the irregular transfer of funds from county bank accounts, doubtful payment claims to individual staff and significant payments to individuals for training activities that could not be verified.

Already the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commision (EACC) detectives have taken over the probe.