Karen Nyamu has accused Eric Omondi of coordinating chants during her address at an endometriosis awareness event at KICC.
The nominated senator alleged that Omondi and MC Antonio coordinated the heckling, but offered no independent evidence to support her claim.
Nominated Senator Karen Nyamu has accused comedian and activist Eric Omondi of arranging the “Wantam” chants that interrupted her address at Natalie Githinji’s Endometriosis Warriors event at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi.
Nyamu made the allegations in a post on X on Monday, a day after sections of the audience repeatedly chanted as she took the stage at the endometriosis awareness gathering.
She alleged that Omondi and the event’s master of ceremonies, Antonio, had directed people at the back of the venue to heckle her. Nyamu did not provide independent evidence to substantiate that account. Omondi had not publicly responded to the allegations by the time of publication.
Nyamu questions introduction and movements
In her post, Nyamu said she had been told that Omondi and Antonio instructed audience members to begin chanting when she spoke. She also said she noticed the two making repeated trips to the back of the venue before her address.
The senator further pointed to Omondi’s introduction of her, during which he noted that they did not agree politically. She interpreted that remark as a signal that a confrontation was about to follow.
Her account combined what she said she had observed with information she said others had passed on to her. Neither established that the chants had been coordinated by Omondi or Antonio.
Awareness event overshadowed by politics
While addressing the gathering on Sunday, Nyamu had dismissed the heckling and said the audience’s reaction did not bother her. She indicated that she had anticipated some hostility because of Omondi’s outspoken criticism of the government.
In her subsequent post, however, she expressed frustration that the political exchanges had drawn attention away from Githinji and the purpose of the event.
Nyamu said she attended to discuss endometriosis and would have preferred the public conversation afterwards to centre on Githinji’s advocacy. Instead, she said, attention had shifted to her and her political allegiance rather than the awareness campaign.
Senator links incident to earlier dispute
Nyamu also connected the confrontation to an earlier disagreement involving Omondi and the late Gengetone artiste Shalkido. She claimed that Shalkido had requested a motorbike from her, which she supplied, before Omondi later gave him another one.
She further alleged that Shalkido subsequently appeared on Obinna’s show, accused her of letting him down and used the “Wantam” slogan. Nyamu suggested that Omondi had not wanted a person associated with the “Tutam” slogan to receive credit for helping him.
That suggested motive remained Nyamu’s allegation, without independent evidence presented in her post. Despite the KICC reception, she reaffirmed her support for President William Ruto and said the chants would not change her political position.
