National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa and Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo on Tuesday engaged in a fierce war of words during a debate on the passing of a Bill in the National Assembly.
Going for each other’s jugular, Ichung’wah accused his Suba North counterpart, who is one of the long-serving female legislators, of failing to set a good example to young leaders with Millie Odhiambo in return claiming that the Kikuyu MP was a ‘dictator’ seeking to intimidate others.
“I know the honourable Millie may not want to hear this but young members like the honourable Njeri Maina of Kirinyaga is calm and willing to learn from older members. [We] ought to see more and better maturity from the older members and I would really beg Millie [that] next time exhibit the kind of maturity that is expected of her as the grandmother of the house,” said Ichungw’ah.
The drama unfolded during the Third Reading of the National Government Administration Laws Amendment Bill of 2023, where Ruaraka Member of Parliament (MP) Tom Kajwang’ proposed the recommittal of some of the clauses of the Bill, a matter that was not welcome to some members.
When the speaker opened the floor for members to contribute to the matter, MP Millie Odhiambo was the first to speak on the matter and immediately took on Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah.
As her temper escalated, she censured Ichung’wah over what she termed as attempts to gag members from debating on the Bill, threatening to even present the matter in court.
“I can see Ichung’wah trying to intimidate me but I am unintimidatable. What has happened earlier on is actually shameful in a democratic country you cannot deny members a chance to speak to a Bill,” she said.
“Actually the majority is lucky because I’m not passionate about this Bill but should somebody want to go to court on this Bill I want it to go on record that we were denied a chance to speak.”
A now vexed Odhiambo argued that any attempts to shush her will always turn futile, vowing to express herself on the parliament’s floor within the provisions of her legislative mandate.
“Even when you have the numbers use it by following what is provided constitutionally. You can’t deny me a chance to speak. I was telling Ichungwah what some of the members from his own side are saying quietly that he is very dictatorial and he denies members a chance to speak,” she roared.
“There are very intelligent members with Degrees but you are making people here look like vegetables, they cannot contribute in this House. This parliament is becoming a joke that’s why some of us are hardly in this House. Let this House be a House of debate, representation and oversight. You can’t make members come here and make us look like flower girls. We refuse to be intimidated.”
She added: “I want to encourage my loving sister Njeri please learn from me, I am serving me third term, senior-most woman MP and as my sister is learning from me she will come back 3 or 4 times and even become Governor because she is learning at my feet. But if you follow someone like Ichung’wah who I’m told has not gone to Italy to study you will fail miserably.”
The House, now thrown into disarray, Ichung’wah took the mic and spared no words to rebut Odhiambo’s sentiments.
He first opposed the recomittal saying that MP Kajwang was part of the committee that formulated the Bill and it was illogical for him to seek revision of some clauses, especially at the Bill’s third reading.
“There was absolutely no reason to recommit that clause. Since he (Kajwang) is a member of the committee of JLAC that considered this Bill is among the issues that would have also been considered by the committee at the committee stage,” said Ichung’wah.
“It’s also not true that members have not had an opportunity to debate this Bill. We are not in the second reading we are in the third reading therefore members including Hon. Millie had an opportunity to debate all the clauses. We should not sit here to listen to people telling us that they will go to court.”
The legislator went on to lecture his Suba North Counterpart telling her to exhibit decorum and not bring the House session to a standstill because of her absence during debate.
“When you are elected as a legislator you come to the House at the right time at 2:30pm but a member cannot walk into the chambers at 5 pm, demand to speak then go on a tantrum and throw epithets,” Ichung’wah said amid heightening chants,” he said.
The scuffle was further exacerbated by Migori Woman Representative Fatuma Mohammed who said that the Bill was not afforded ample time for debate hence why it sparked contention.
In his response, Ichung’wah said that Mohammed’s comments pose her as an ignorant leader who appeared before the House without reading the Bill and then expected to make coherent contributions.
His remarks further irked Mohammed to fire back with harsh comments, demeaning Ichung’wah’s education qualification as compared to hers.
“I went to a school in Italy, you studied locally so do not say that I don’t know what was happening. He is part of the problem that when the Bill was being read he was shouting here but don’t come here to intimidate me. I represent 8 constituencies you represent one constituency. You are a minor to me,” said the Woman Representative.
The speaker was forced to intervene in the matter that was clearly getting out of hand and even admitted that MP Odhiambo’s arguments have taken an unchecked trajectory over time.
“She has been here long with the majority leader and has invented a mode of contribution which is not known to the standing orders,” said Peter Kaluma, who was chairing the session.
