NAIROBI, Kenya — Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah was on Thursday ejected from the Senate and suspended from attending sittings for three consecutive days after refusing to withdraw remarks in which he described President William Ruto as “yapping.”
Omtatah challenged Speaker Amason Kingi’s directive, insisting that the word was neither unparliamentary nor disrespectful and amounted to a description of what he regarded as excessive political communication by the President.
“Yapping is not unparliamentary. Go and check the record of the Westminster Parliament,” Omtatah said while attempting to defend his choice of words.
He also cautioned Kingi against what he described as a “slippery slope” in restricting debate in the Senate.
Kingi, however, stopped Omtatah and told him that the matter had already been determined during the previous sitting, when a temporary Speaker ruled that the word was unparliamentary and ordered him to withdraw it.
“I order you to leave the chamber for three sitting days consecutively. You may leave now,” Kingi ruled.
The Speaker warned that if Omtatah refused to leave, the Sergeant-at-Arms could be ordered to remove him, potentially resulting in a longer exclusion from the chamber.
“Don’t make me direct the Sergeant-at-Arms to come for you, because then that will amount to 90 days. Let’s observe decorum,” Kingi said.
Omtatah Defies Order to Withdraw ‘Yapping’
The confrontation stemmed from proceedings during the Senate’s previous sitting, when Omtatah was directed to withdraw the word after using it in reference to President Ruto.
Omtatah did not complete the withdrawal after Senator Mohamed Faki raised an issue concerning quorum, leading to the adjournment of the sitting.
The matter returned to the Senate on Thursday, with Omtatah given another opportunity to comply with the directive.
Rather than withdraw the word, however, the Busia senator sought to justify its use, arguing that it should not be considered unparliamentary.
Kingi said he could not revisit the ruling made by the temporary Speaker.
“A determination was made yesterday by the temporary Speaker that the word ‘yapping’ is unparliamentary. I cannot review that ruling,” Kingi said.
He maintained that his responsibility was to enforce the Senate Standing Orders rather than reconsider a decision already made from the Chair.
Kingi Rejects Quorum Argument
The Speaker also rejected arguments questioning whether Omtatah could be disciplined over remarks allegedly made when the Senate lacked quorum.
Kingi said the quorum issue was raised only after Omtatah had already been directed to withdraw the word.
“The words were uttered when the Senate was properly constituted, and the proceedings were legal,” he said.
Kingi reminded senators that they were bound by the Standing Orders adopted by the House.
“You may not respect me, but respect the Standing Orders that you yourself took part in formulating and adopting,” he said.
Senators Challenge Omtatah’s Suspension
The three-day suspension attracted concern from some senators, who urged Kingi to reconsider the punishment.
Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ said he was not necessarily defending Omtatah but questioned whether remarks made during proceedings whose quorum was subsequently challenged should attract disciplinary action.
Kajwang’ also raised concerns about the impact of suspending an elected senator, noting that the senator’s county would effectively be left without representation in the Senate for the duration of the exclusion.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale also defended Omtatah, arguing that “yapping” could simply mean talking excessively and could therefore be understood as an opinion rather than an insult.
“Being an opinion, if we are going to start punishing senators for their opinions in this House, it means we are breaching the doctrine of freedom of speech in this House,” Khalwale said.
Khalwale questioned whether the word itself was inherently unparliamentary or whether its use in reference to the President was the reason it had attracted the Speaker’s objection.
Kingi Tells Senators to Seek Changes to Standing Orders
Kingi maintained that the dispute had already been settled through the earlier ruling and that senators were required to comply with the rules governing proceedings in the House.
He told senators who disagreed with the Standing Orders that they could pursue amendments to the rules rather than disregard them during proceedings.
“These are not cast in stone. We can review them to conform to the comfort that you dearly hold,” Kingi said.
