Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has vowed to continue challenging what he considers unconstitutional actions by the government after he was suspended from the Senate for three sitting days over remarks he made about President William Ruto.
Omtatah was ejected from the Senate chamber on Thursday, September 10, after refusing to withdraw the word “yapping”, which he had used while referring to what he described as the President's roadside declaration on undocumented immigrants.
The senator maintains that the term was not unparliamentary and that withdrawing it would compromise his constitutional duty to hold those in power to account.
“I have been suspended from the Senate for three sitting days for REFUSING to withdraw the word ‘yapping’ in describing the President’s ROADSIDE declaration on undocumented immigrants,” Omtatah said in a statement.
“I respect the Chair, but I will not surrender the constitutional duty to speak truth to power.”
The confrontation centres not only on parliamentary language but also on the constitutional validity of presidential pronouncements made outside formal government processes.
Omtatah argued that Article 135 of the Constitution requires certain presidential decisions made under the Constitution to be formally documented.
He said a statement made publicly at a roadside gathering cannot automatically acquire the force of law merely because it was uttered by the President.
“Article 135 requires Presidential decisions made under the Constitution to be in writing, sealed and signed,” he said.
“A roadside utterance cannot acquire the force of law simply because it comes from the President.”
Omtatah's comments followed remarks by President Ruto concerning undocumented immigrants and the closure of small businesses operated by foreigners.
The senator had argued during Wednesday's sitting that the President's comments violated constitutional requirements.
“The roadside pronouncements by the President, first of all, violated the Constitution, Article 135 that does not allow the President to go yapping around and saying things that have not been approved,” Omtatah said.
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi ruled that the term “yapping” was unparliamentary after Senator Samson Cherargei raised a point of order.
Senator Mohamed Faki also supported the objection, citing the dictionary meaning of the word as referring to talking excessively about unimportant or trivial matters.
Kingi said Temporary Speaker Abdul Haji had directed Omtatah to withdraw the term and replace it with an appropriate expression.
Omtatah instead defended his choice of words, arguing that parliamentary precedent in the United Kingdom supported his position.
He cited a 2020 exchange in the British House of Commons in which then-SNP leader Ian Blackford used the words “yapping, bumbling, mumbling” during Prime Minister's Questions.
“I respectfully submit that this ruling, while well intentioned, is not supported by the very traditions of Parliamentary democracy that this House seeks to emulate,” Omtatah said.
Kingi, however, reminded him that Kenya's Parliament operates under its own Standing Orders.
“We are not in the Westminster Parliament. This is the Kenyan Parliament with its Standing Orders,” Kingi said.
He subsequently ordered Omtatah to leave the chamber for three consecutive sittings.
The suspension has triggered a wider debate over parliamentary privilege, freedom of speech and the limits of language used by elected representatives.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale defended Omtatah, warning that punishing senators for expressing opinions could undermine debate in the House.
“If we are going to start punishing Senators for their opinions in this House, it means, Mr Speaker, we are breaching the doctrine of freedom of speech in this House,” Khalwale said.
Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang also urged the Speaker to reconsider suspension, arguing that excluding Omtatah from the chamber meant denying Busia County representation during Senate proceedings.
Kingi, however, maintained that senators must obey the Standing Orders and accept the consequences of breaching them.
“The biggest problem is when you apply these Standing Orders, there's bound to be an issue,” he said, adding that “once you breach these Standing Orders, consequences will follow.”
Despite his suspension, Omtatah said the punishment would not silence him.
“If calling out unconstitutional governance is punishable, then the greater danger is not the word ‘yapping’. It is the growing intolerance for accountability,” he said.
“Three days outside the Chamber will not silence me. I will continue to defend the Constitution and the Kenyan people.”
