President Ruto Witnesses Tense Confrontation Between Senators at Maa Festival

President William Ruto attended the Maa Cultural and Tourism Festival at Sekenani Gate in the Maasai Mara National Reserve when a heated exchange broke out between nominated Senator Hezena Lemaletian and Narok Senator Ledama Olekina on Saturday, November 14, 2026.

Lemaletian used her address to protest what she described as the marginalisation of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leaders in the three Maa counties following the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, noting that the counties had historically been ODM strongholds and that the coalition with the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) left some ODM figures excluded.

She illustrated the internal split with a basket analogy, telling the President that the “basket full of ODM leaders” was developing holes and urging him to convene a meeting with ODM representatives from the Maa counties to resolve the grievances.

Olekina, who was acting as master of ceremony, moved towards Lemaletian and appeared to try to take her microphone, creating a moment that threatened to become physical and briefly shifted focus away from her speech.

The confrontation occurred during the festival’s final day, which concluded on November 14 after five days of celebrations that brought together communities from Narok, Kajiado and Samburu to showcase Maa heritage and promote cultural tourism; this was the fourth edition and marked the event’s return to Narok after previous editions in Samburu and Kajiado.

Images obtained by People Daily Digital showed supporters of Narok Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu and Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, who is eyeing the county’s gubernatorial seat, clashing with each other, while supporters of Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku also became involved, leaving parts of the venue in disarray and prompting journalists to evacuate equipment.