Kenya: Sabina Chege Injured in House Melee Over Her Retention as Deputy Minority Whip
Nairobi — Nominated MP Sabina Chege was today injured in chaos that rocked National Assembly plenary sitting.
Fight unfolded when National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula made a ruling retaining Chege as the deputy minority whip.
St Johns Ambulance first responders were quickly called in to attend to the injured Chege after she was allegedly hit by a bottle on the wrist by a fellow female lawmaker.
Chege was seen quickly leaving the precincts of Parliament escorted by her aids after receiving first aid.
The ruling had irked Azimio La Umoja One Kenya MPs who had accused Speaker Wetangula of bias.
Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi had written a letter to the Speaker communicating the replacement of Chege with Embakasi West MP David Mwenje.
A pandemonium sitting was witnessed in the National Assembly forcing seven MPs to be suspended following the chaos that rocked the plenary sitting.
Wetangula suspended the seven who are accused of causing mayhem during his communication to the House.
The Speaker was forced to suspend the sitting for fifteen minutes to contain the situation.
When the house resumed its sittings, MPs Millie Odhiambo (Suba South), Rosa Buyu (Kisumu), Chege and TJ Kajwang (Ruaraka) were kicked out for a period of two weeks after the speaker invoked the standing orders.
Fatuma Muyanzi (Malindi), and Catherine Omanyo (Busia) were barred from the house sittings for a period of five days while and Joyce Kamene was ordered out for a period two sittings.
“‘I am saddened at what happened this afternoon, I have consistently refrained myself from invoking standing orders relating to the discipline of the house,” Wetangula said.
“The said members among other things defied a ruling of the speaker, made disruptive utterances, used violence against a member of the house and acted in a manner to the serious determent of the dignity of the house,” he ruled amid boos from MPs.
Irked by the action taken by the National Assembly Speaker, Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi threatened that they will submit a motion of no confidence against the speaker accusing him of being biased.
“Things cannot continue in this manner in this house anymore, and we have decided to bring a motion of impeachment against the person of Moses Wetangula as the speaker, and we expect him to prioritize that motion,”said Wandayi.
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The Deputy Minority Leader Robert Mbui accused Speaker Wetangula of acting under the whims of the majority coalition.
“The main issue we have a problem with is that the speaker wants the majority to dictate who will lead the minority, we have made a decision who we want to lead us, it’s not logical and it’s not moral, if I was Sabina I would have resigned, we won’t allow the majority to continue controlling us,” said the deputy majority leader.
In his ruling over the issue, Speaker Wetangula indicated that he cannot effect the changes by the Azimio Coalition Parliamentary Group meeting given conservatory orders given on petition filed in Kiambu Court barring the changes.
“I have ruled that you have procedurally followed every step, and I have no difficulty with your decision to remove your deputy whip, but there is a court order that strangely your party and coalition is not party to, I would advise that you seek to be enjoined,”Wetangula said.
“I am confronted by a court order that specifically cited both speaker and the house as parties to a judicial process that seems to challenge an administrative process,”he added.
Wetangula ruled that the letter by Minority Leader seeking to have Chege replaced by Embakasi West MP David Mwenje will not take effect until the conservatory orders have been set aside.
“Until and unless further information is provided that this court order has been varied or set side, the court order effectively suspends the decision by the minority party on the replacement of Sabina Chege as the minority whip,”Wetangula said.
