Kisumu, Kenya — Sunday, September 13, 2026
Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo was on Sunday, September 13, thoroughly heckled and booed during a UDA-ODM grassroots engagement meeting in Kisumu, attended by President William Ruto.
The lawmaker had barely started speaking when the crowd turned hostile, shouting her down and forcing her to pause. Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, who was serving as the master of ceremonies, stepped in and took the microphone from her to restore order.
Millie Odhiambo, however, refused to retreat. She stood her ground and delivered a defiant response to the hostile crowd.
“I am supporting President William Ruto, but in my own way, and in my own terms,” she said. “You know you cannot threaten me with your heckling and booing. I was born a tough-headed girl, and nothing in this place can threaten me.”
The heckling stemmed from growing frustration over her political stance. Attendees demanded she stop “sitting on the fence” and make a definitive choice regarding her loyalties—whether she stands with the Linda Mwananchi initiative or fully backs the broad-based government arrangement championed by supporters pushing for President Ruto’s 2027 re-election bid.
Millie Odhiambo has consistently refused to be boxed into either ODM faction. In a May 31 press interview, she insisted she belongs to neither camp, describing her position as an “ODM loyalist” and her stance as a deliberate “fence philosophy”—not indecision, but political independence.
The incident underscores the rising tensions within ODM’s traditional strongholds following the formation of the broad-based government. While national leaders continue to promote unity ahead of 2027, grassroots reactions in Kisumu signal that voters are demanding total clarity from their representatives.
