NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 10 — Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah was on Thursday ejected from the Senate and barred from attending its sittings for three days after refusing to withdraw remarks describing President William Ruto as “yapping.”

📻 Breaking It Down

Omtatah protested the Speaker’s directive, arguing that the word was neither unparliamentary nor disrespectful, but a permissible description of what he considered excessive political communication by the President.

“Yapping is not unparliamentary. Go and check the record of the Westminster Parliament,” Omtatah said as he sought to defend his remarks.

He also warned Speaker Amason Kingi against what he termed a “slippery slope” in limiting debate in the House.

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Kingi, however, cut him short, saying Omtatah was engaging the Chair instead of complying with an earlier ruling requiring him to withdraw the word.

“I order you to leave the chamber for three sitting days consecutively. You may leave now,” Kingi ruled.

The Speaker warned that failure to comply would result in the intervention of the Sergeant-at-Arms and 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.

The confrontation followed a ruling made during the previous sitting in which the temporary Speaker determined that “yapping” was unparliamentary and ordered Omtatah to withdraw it.

The withdrawal was not completed after Senator Mohamed Faki raised the issue of quorum, prompting the Senate to adjourn. The matter returned to the floor on Thursday when Omtatah was given another opportunity to comply.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya