{"id":122978,"date":"2025-10-13T08:18:44","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T08:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/10\/13\/odm-senator-faces-backlash-after-defending-orero-over-viral-traffic-incident\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T08:18:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T08:18:44","slug":"odm-senator-faces-backlash-after-defending-orero-over-viral-traffic-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/odm-senator-faces-backlash-after-defending-orero-over-viral-traffic-incident\/","title":{"rendered":"ODM Senator faces backlash after defending Orero over viral traffic incident"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13\u00a0\u2014 Nominated Senator Hamida Kibwana has come under sharp criticism after attempting to justify the conduct of Kibra MP Peter Orero, who was filmed flouting traffic rules in Nairobi and verbally confronting a journalist.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Senator Kibwana\u2019s attempt to defend Orero\u2019s behaviour triggered a fierce backlash online after she suggested the MP\u2019s conduct reflected a \u201cdemanding political life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKenyans don\u2019t understand how demanding political life can be \u2014 from constituency duties to assembly sessions and committee work. The constant pressure takes a toll on mental health. That\u2019s why my Mental Health Bill seeks to establish a desk to support leaders\u2019 wellness,\u201d she wrote in a Sunday post.<\/p>\n

Her remarks, however, were met with outrage from Kenyans who dismissed them as insensitive and detached from reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf any profession faces a high risk of mental health challenges, it is the police, doctors, nurses, and teachers,\u201d said MohammedHersi, a prominent figure in the hospitality industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cLegislators driving fuel-guzzling vehicles on the wrong side of the road exemplify not a mental health crisis, but the arrogance of overpaid representatives who disregard the very citizens they are meant to protect,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u2018Mentally unstable MPs\u2019<\/h2>\n

City lawyer Willis Otieno\u00a0also ridiculed the Senator\u2019s comments, questioning whether she was implying that lawmakers were \u201cmentally unstable\u201d and needed legislation to \u201ccure the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

The backlash from Kibwana\u2019s comment came even as police announced efforts to trace and question Orero\u2019s driver in relation to the\u00a0viral clip\u00a0captured by CNN journalist Larry Madowo which\u00a0showed the MP encouraging his driver to continue driving on the wrong side of the road while hurling insults at other motorists.<\/p>\n

In the 26-second clip, Orero is heard telling Madowo to \u201ctake the video to President Ruto\u201d \u2014 a remark widely interpreted as a show of impunity.<\/p>\n

The National Police Service (NPS) warned that only emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire engines, as well as the President\u2019s and Deputy President\u2019s motorcades, are permitted to obstruct traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we happen to get that clip, then we get the registration number of the vehicle. After that, we will summon whoever was driving it at that particular time for questioning, and then action will be taken,\u201d said Traffic Police Commandant Fredrick Ochieng\u2019,\u00a0confirming investigations were underway.<\/p>\n

The incident has reignited public debate about impunity among public officials and the misuse of perceived VIP privileges on Kenyan roads.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13\u00a0\u2014 Nominated Senator Hamida Kibwana has come under sharp criticism after attempting to justify the conduct of Kibra MP Peter Orero, who was filmed flouting traffic rules in Nairobi and verbally confronting a journalist. Senator Kibwana\u2019s attempt to defend Orero\u2019s behaviour triggered a fierce backlash online after she suggested the MP\u2019s conduct […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122978\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}