Drama ensued in the National Assembly on Thursday, November 13, afternoon as Members of Parliament clashed over the Government-Owned Enterprises Bill.
MPs allied to the united opposition led by Deputy Minority Whip Robert Mbui demanded that the bill be deferred to next week.
The MPs claimed that there was not enough quorum in the National Assembly for the bill to be read for the third time.
Despite the protest from the opposition MPs, Deputy Speaker Gladys Shollei allowed the leader of the Majority, Kimani Ichung’wah, to proceed to read the bill.
Mbui, who was frustrated by the Deputy Speaker’s decision, stood up and attempted to grab the mace.
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Shollei called the Kathiani MP out and suspended him for five days from the parliament precincts.
"Honourable Mbui, if you want to make a point of order, you have to do it with respect. You cannot do it in a disrespectful manner. You cannot attempt to remove the mace from its place.
"For that reason, you have committed gross misconduct and, contrary to Standing Order 107 A. I ask the sergeants-at-arms to remove you from the precincts of Parliament for five days,” Shollei stated.
Mbui continued to shout that there was no quorum as he was ejected from the house by the sergeant-at-arms.
The Deputy Speaker also suspended Embakasi South MP Julius Mawathe from the parliament buildings for five days.
“Honorable Mawathe, you are also grossly out of order. You were part of trying to remove the mace from its place; you have offended Standing Order 107 A, so you are going to be removed and expelled from the precincts of Parliament for five days,” Shollei added.
Addressing the media outside Parliament, Mbui slammed Shollei for allowing the controversial bill to be read for the third time, citing a lack of quorum.
The Kathiani MP said he would file a complaint with National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula after his suspension.
“There was no reason for the Deputy Speaker to deny us an opportunity to speak. Kenyans must now know that we have a rogue Parliament being run like a marketplace,” said Mbui.
The controversial Government-Owned Enterprise bill is proposing the privatization of 67 state parastatals.
