By Reporter
Former chairman of the Homa Bay County Assembly budget committee, Mr Jeff Ongoro, has claimed that a section of Members of County Assembly (MCAs) allied to Governor Gladys Wanga were bribed with Sh1 million each to pass this year’s budget.
Ongoro has sensationally claimed in a viral video clip that his colleagues were allegedly bribed at an upmarket Kisumu hotel to fast-track the passage of the budget.
“I know the MCAs were given Sh1 million, especially the elected ones who are aligned to Mama Gladys Wanga. I know for sure. If I am lying, let them come out and deny my claim,” he said.
Ongoro said he did not receive the Sh1 million bribe but wants the development funds to be used for their intended purpose.
“I want development funds for my Kanyaluo Ward delivered. I demand that the projects for Kanyaluo Ward be accomplished. Most of the projects for my ward have stalled, and I don’t want to be part of the cartel,” he said.
Allegations of Sh1 million bribe to members of Homa Bay County Assembly (MCAs) allied to Governor Gladys Wanga to pass this year’s budget
But North Ward MCA Ouma Odongo denied the allegations of bribery, saying they only had a consultative meeting with the governor.
“It is true we met with the governor in Kisumu. But we were discussing the projects which were in the budget but had not been implemented,” he said.
Odongo, who is the Homa Bay ODM branch treasurer, said the meeting was aimed at ensuring the projects that had been earmarked for development were implemented.
“We told the governor that with the elections just one year away, we wanted the projects implemented. We were never bribed. You can see the projects are currently being implemented,” he said.
Odongo wondered why their colleagues on the opposing side were out to create unnecessary tension in the county with unfounded rumours.
Ongoro also said they will petition the Senate to investigate the county executive over multi-billions of shillings earmarked for development projects which have not been undertaken.
“We are going to petition the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to come and investigate the allegations of corruption at the county,” he said.
Ongoro claimed that in the last financial year and this financial year, the county government had not implemented the budget.
“The only financial year in which the executive implemented 70 per cent of the budget was in 2022-2023. For the last two financial years, there has been no implementation of the budget,” he said.
Wanga’s charade with Senate PAC
Wanga recently failed to appear before the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) for the second time to address questions regarding the Auditor General’s report on the financial statements for the fiscal year 2024/2025.
The committee was set to interrogate the county executive of Homa Bay on Wednesday, 18th March 2026, about the revenue collected and the county revenue fund statement for the same period.
CPAC Chairman Moses Kajwang’ urged Wanga to take a cue from her predecessor, Cyprian Awiti, who consistently attended Senate hearings even while unwell.
“I recall that the first governor of Homa Bay, Cyprian Awiti, never failed to appear before the Senate,” he noted.
According to Kajwang’, Awiti did this not because it was a favour to the people of Homa Bay but because it was part of his core responsibilities.
“I hope that Governor Wanga will also learn from her predecessor,” he said.
The chairman told the governors to uphold the principles of the Constitution and devolution, emphasising that these are crucial for transforming the lives of Kenyans.
According to Homa Bay Senator Kajwang’, accountability is a fundamental pillar of their campaign promises.
“In Homa Bay, accountability has always been part of our political and governance culture,” he noted.
Kajwang’ highlighted that there are critical issues that require clarity, as mentioned in the Auditor General’s report, ranging from the fact that pending bills in Homa Bay are on the rise, with the financial statements indicating that the county was facing Ksh1.5 billion in pending bills.
“That is a significant amount of money that is locked up within the county. If released, it could stimulate the local economy. Unfortunately, more than Ksh1 billion of that debt is older than 365 days,” Kajwang’ said.
Wage bill
He said there was a need to discuss the escalating wage bill, which currently stands at 54 per cent, saying this percentage of the county’s revenue goes to salaries and wages, and noted that a recent audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that the Homa Bay payroll was riddled with ghost workers, necessitating a clean-up.
“This was a substantial discussion we had with the governor in our last meeting, and we expected her to inform us about the measures taken to address the issues of ghost workers and the spiralling wage bill,” he stated.
The governor was expected to clarify the county’s priorities, as some of them were deemed misplaced.
Kajwang’ said the Homa Bay County Referral Hospital is currently under construction at a cost of roughly Ksh270 million, while the county’s new headquarters cost Ksh800 million.
He questioned whether the people of Homa Bay needed an extravagant headquarters or a quality hospital for children and women in dire need of health services.
