A video has emerged of Suba North Member of Parliament Millie Odhiambo urging her colleagues in the Orange Democratic Movement(ODM) to start listening to the ground just like former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
When Gachagua was impeached in 2024, he said he would head to his Wamunyoro village in Nyeri to listen to what the ground was saying, and he would follow what the electorate told him. Two years down the line, Gachagua is now a colossus, and he is the man calling the shots in the Mt Kenya region simply because he took time to listen to the people.
Without a doubt, any Mt Kenya leader who is not singing Rigathi Gachagua’s gospel of wantam is minced meat, and in the 2027 General Election he will see vapour if not dust.
Millie, who is supporting the broad-based government of President William Ruto and ODM, warned her colleagues in ODM that they may end up being wantam if they keep shouting tutams on top of their monster vehicles and not listening to the ground like Rigathi Gachagua. She reminded them that politics is about the people and not about flashy cars, loud slogans, or being seen at the right events. The people at the grassroots, she said, are the ones who decide elections and any leader who ignores them does so at their own peril.
The MP’s remarks have sparked mixed reactions among ODM supporters. Some have praised her for speaking truth to power while others have accused her of undermining the party’s leadership. However, Millie stood her ground, insisting that her message was not about attacking anyone but about saving the party from itself. She argued that ODM has become too comfortable with the trappings of power and has lost touch with the ordinary citizens who form the party’s bedrock.
Political analysts have noted that Gachagua’s rise from impeachment to becoming the undisputed kingpin of Mt Kenya is a textbook example of the power of grassroots engagement.
By returning to his village, listening to the people, and allowing their concerns to shape his political agenda, Gachagua has built a loyal following that has proven difficult for even the ruling party to penetrate. His party’s resounding victory in the Ol Kalou by-election was a testament to the strength of this approach.
Millie’s warning to her ODM colleagues is timely. As the country heads toward the 2027 elections, many leaders are busy crisscrossing the country in their expensive vehicles, making grand promises but rarely stopping to listen. The lesson from Gachagua is clear: the ground always speaks, and those who refuse to listen will be swept aside.
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