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

Mbita Constituency Mbita Point is a town in the former province of Nyanza Province, Nyanza, Kenya, currently in Homa Bay County, on the shores of Lake Victoria. It is home to the Thomas Odhiambo campus of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIP ...

, (now Suba North Constituency).

Early life

Odhiambo was born in 1966 in

Homa Bay Homa Bay is a town (and eponymous bay) on the south shore of Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria, in western Kenya. It lies near Mount Homa (in the Luo language ''Got Marahuma'' or ''God Uma'' famous mountain" and Ruma National Park, the latter noted ...

to Harrison Odhiambo and Damaris Auma Odhiambo. She is the fourth of eight children. Her father Harrison Odhiambo died in 1973 in a boating accident, a moment that Odhiambo says helped spur her interest in politics. Millie attended Homa Bay Primary School, St. Francis Girls Secondary School and Limuru Girls High School before she attended the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

in 1986. She graduated in 1990 with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree. She would later study in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. 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. 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.

Political career

Odhiambo was nominated as a Member of Parliament in 2007 by the

Orange Democratic Movement The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a centre-left political party in Kenya. It is the successor of a grassroots people's movement which was formed during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum campaign. This movement separated in Augu ...

and then elected as a member of the

in the

2013 Kenyan general election General elections were held in Kenya on 4 March 2013. Voters elected the President, members of the National Assembly and newly formed Senate. They were the first elections held under the new constitution, which was approved in a 2010 referendum ...

. Since taking her seat in Parliament, Kenyan media have described her as "controversial" and "outspoken".

Personal life

Millie married Magugu Mabona of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

in 2006. Odhiambo is a stepmother to Mabona's daughter Lebo, who lives in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

. She has been vocal about her struggle growing up with

uterine fibroids Uterine fibroids, also known as uterine leiomyomas or fibroids, are benign smooth muscle tumors of the uterus. Most women with fibroids have no symptoms while others may have painful or heavy periods. If large enough, they may push on the bl ...

, which led to both painful

menstrual cycle The menstrual cycle is a series of natural changes in hormone production and the structures of the uterus and ovaries of the female reproductive system that make pregnancy possible. The ovarian cycle controls the production and release of eggs a ...

s and difficulty conceiving children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odhiambo, Millie 1966 births Living people University of Nairobi alumni People from Homa Bay County 20th-century Kenyan lawyers Members of the National Assembly (Kenya) Kenyan women lawyers 21st-century Kenyan women politicians 21st-century Kenyan politicians 21st-century Kenyan lawyers Orange Democratic Movement politicians 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers