Lawyer and public intellectual Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba walked off the stage during a public address in Kisumu after he was asked to pause his presentation to allow Governor Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o to be formally welcomed to the event.
The incident occurred on Thursday during the 18th Annual Scientific Conference in Kisumu, where PLO Lumumba was delivering a keynote address.
Lumumba appeared visibly angered after organisers interrupted his presentation and asked him to pause as a gesture of respect for the governor, who had arrived after the programme was already underway.
Rather than continue waiting, Lumumba stopped his presentation and walked off the stage, describing the practice as a manifestation of the backward mindset that continues to hold Africans back.
“I am now being stopped because the governor is coming. What is important—is it what we are saying or that the governor is coming? I’ll stop, but this is the kind of thing that holds Africans back,” Lumumba said.
The renowned lawyer questioned why the governor’s late arrival should disrupt an ongoing programme, arguing that Nyong’o was aware of the date and time of the meeting.
“The governor knew we had a meeting, and we are celebrating, and he chooses to come late to interrupt,” he said.
Lumumba’s decision to leave the stage brought his presentation to an abrupt end, sparking attention among attendees and underscoring his long-standing criticism of practices he considers to undermine professionalism, time management, and institutional respect.
