Ruth Odinga expresses outrage over Orengo’s hostile treatment at Seme funeral
By Mabonga Makhanu, May 3, 2026Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has come out to express outrage following the eviction of Siaya Governor James Orengo from Seme MP James Nyikal’s father’s funeral.
While speaking to the media in Kisumu on Saturday, May 2, 2026, moments after the funeral, she expressed her disappointment over the intolerance, questioning how an elected leader like Orengo could be evicted from the funeral of a fellow politician simply because he held a divergent view from what other politicians at the event were championing.
“A whole governor in Nyanza can be removed and escorted out of a funeral of his colleague who is an MP—and for what reason? Because he has a divergent view from those who were sitting there.”
She continued, expressing fury over how Luo politics has descended to a point where goons are sponsored to attack a fellow lakeside politician during a solemn function.
“And for what reason? Because he has a divergent view from those who are sitting there? What is this intolerance in the ODM party?”
She went ahead to distance herself from the politics that played out in Seme, where the Linda Mwananchi and Linda Ground factions clashed, stating that she does not belong to either faction and that her sole focus is to preserve the legacy of the late Raila Odinga, who steered the party for two decades since its inception in 2005.
She added that the only thing her late brother could fall back on was the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), noting that even on many occasions when he was denied what she termed his rightful share, the only thing he could look up to was the Orange party.
Funeral chaos
This came after chaos erupted during the funeral of James Nyikal’s father after James Orengo arrived, prompting a rowdy group of youths to oppose his address. The youths moved close to the front row while chanting ‘tutam’, forcing church leaders to intervene and calm the situation, which led to Orengo being escorted out of the funeral by his security.
Orengo would later come out to rebut claims that he was chased away, stating that he left of his own will since he had already completed his mission of the day, which was to show solidarity with the Nyikal family.