Millie Odhiambo | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Suba North Constituency | |
Assumed office 15 January 2013 | |
Preceded by | Otieno Kajwang |
Personal details | |
Born | 1 November 1966 |
Nationality | Kenyan |
Political party | Orange Democratic Movement |
Alma mater | University of Nairobi |
Profession | Lawyer |
Website | https://millieodhiambo.com |
Millie Grace Akoth Odhiambo Mabona (born 1 November 1966) is a Kenyan politician. She originally trained as a lawyer,and has been a member of parliament since 2008. She was first nominated and later elected as a Member of Suba North Constituency. [1]
Odhiambo was born in 1966 in Homa Bay to Harrison Odhiambo and Damaris Auma Odhiambo. [2] She is the fourth of eight children. [2] Her father Harrison Odhiambo died in 1973 in a boating accident,a moment that Odhiambo says helped spur her interest in politics. [3]
Millie attended nursery school, [2] St. Francis Girls Secondary School and Limuru Girls High School before she attended the University of Nairobi in 1986. She graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Laws degree. [4] She would later study in the United States,Sweden and Italy. [4]
She began her career in the attorney general's office practicing civil litigation before moving on to human rights law,with an emphasis on women and children. [4] In 1999 she served as chairperson of the Coalition on Violence Against Women-Kenya and from 2000 to 2008 was the founder and director of the CRADLE Children's Foundation,an organization working to improve children's rights in the legal system. [4]
Odhiambo was nominated as a Member of Parliament in 2007 by the Orange Democratic Movement [4] [5] and then elected as a member of the Orange Democratic Movement in the 2013 Kenyan general election. [4] [6] Since taking her seat in Parliament,Kenyan media have described her as "controversial" and "outspoken". [7] [8]
Millie married Magugu Mabona of Zimbabwe in 2006. [9]
Odhiambo is a stepmother to Mabona's daughter Lebo,who lives in Botswana. [3] She has been vocal about her struggle growing up with uterine fibroids,which led to both painful menstrual cycles and difficulty conceiving children. [10]