How Millie Odhiambo tackled ‘you’re childless’ remarks by Sonko, Kenyans on social media

Suba North Member of Parliament Millie Odhiambo says she is “proudly childless” despite Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko attacking her over her inability to conceive.

Ms Odhiambo, 54, took to her Facebook page to clap back at the county chief, who accused the lawmaker of “not having experienced the process of giving birth” hence her attacks on him when he [Sonko] revealed that the Late Kibra MP Ken Okoth had a paramour identified as Anne Thumbi.

According to Sonko, it would be unfair to exclude Anne Thumbi’s 3-year-old son, allegedly sired by Okoth, from being listed as a beneficiary of the Late MP’s wealth.

Sonko said Millie “does not understand how it feels like giving birth, and raising a child alone; with no financial muscle”.

Responding to Mr Sonko, Ms Odhiambo said: “I hear Sonko has attacked me for being childless. I am proudly childless just like several other women and men. Let us all be proud of our various God-given creations.”

Even though the MP is yet to reveal -- extensively -- the reason why she is yet to conceive at the age of 54, in an April 2015 interview with Standard Group’s Nairobian, Millie Odhiambo said her “lifestyle” is somehow to blame for that.

“One of the reasons I still don’t have a child is my lifestyle – I am married to non-Kenyan (Zimbabwean) and I do not want to have a child with another man and purport to present it as my husband’s baby. Because of the distance and my age, we cannot have a child naturally, unless, of course, we go back to the Biblical times of Abraham and Sarah. But miracles are in short supply nowadays,” she said.

In a July 2019 interview on NTV, Millie Odhiambo said she has, on several occasions, been ridiculed for her “lack of a child”.

“In my community, people even have names for people who cannot have babies. Some people call me “Lur”, which means a barren woman,” said Ms Odhiambo.

The parliamentarian further explained that some online users resort to insulting her over her inability to bear children whenever she disagrees with their opinions.

“The people I disagree with end up telling me that is why God has not blessed me with children,” she said.

Millie has been pushing for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment to be made cheaper and accessible in Kenya.

During her July 2019 interview on NTV, Millie Odhiambo said the reason why infertility is a major issue in Kenya is that IVF is expensive and most families cannot afford.

“The cost of IVF ranges from Ksh300,000 to Ksh1 million per IVF Therapy, and each couple is required to have an average of 3 cycles of treatment,” said Millie, adding that an embryo transfer costs up to about Ksh350,000 in Kenya.”

The vocal lawmaker has found herself being put on the defensive every other time her “childlessness” issue is raised.

In March 2018, she had to address the constant stigmatisation directed at her after a group of women reached out to her to seek advice on how to tackle the issue of infertility.

''My childlessness does not affect me that much. God gave me a special ability to love children who are not mine. I am, however, toying with the idea of having a child when I am 53 or 55. Sarah did it at 100, anyway. Some women got in touch with me on being childless because they thought I would be empathetic. Up until then, I was not going to bring a law on Assisted Reproduction. I was touched by how women are very affected,” said Ms Odhiambo on Facebook.