{"id":55681,"date":"2024-06-20T14:03:38","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T14:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/06\/20\/opposition-senators-criticize-wetangula-over-access-to-public-gallery\/"},"modified":"2024-06-20T14:03:38","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T14:03:38","slug":"opposition-senators-criticize-wetangula-over-access-to-public-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/opposition-senators-criticize-wetangula-over-access-to-public-gallery\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition Senators criticize Wetangula over Access to Public gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 20 \u2013 Opposition Senators have criticized National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, accusing him of heavy-handedness for denying them access to the public gallery to witness the debate and voting on the Finance Bill 2024.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Senators Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi), Godfrey Osotsi (Vihiga), and Ledama Ole Kina (Narok) had written to National Assembly Clerk Samuel Njoroge requesting access to the gallery, but their request was denied.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Clerk advised them to watch the proceedings on national television like other Kenyans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very disappointed that Speaker Wetangula has ordered that there will be no access to the public gallery even for us members of the Senate,\u201d said Sifuna.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy was I elected to this house if I cannot follow the debate? How will I mobilize my ODM MPs to ensure they vote against this Finance Bill?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Sifuna condemned Speaker Wetangula, calling him a \u2018coward\u2019 for closing the public gallery, which should be open to the public and legislators alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is perhaps the worst speaker in the history of Parliament. He runs the house as if he\u2019s a DJ at some disco in Matisi. He controls the mic himself and interjects constantly. It\u2019s like he wants to debate himself. He should allow debate to flow,\u201d Sifuna stated.<\/p>\n

Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi implored National Assembly legislators to impeach Speaker Wetangula, claiming his conduct in the legislative house is improper and needs to be addressed through impeachment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWetangula is running the house like a baraza in Kamkuya Market, without appreciating that a speaker must be impartial and fair. We have seen him wearing party colors and campaigning around the country,\u201d Osotsi said.<\/p>\n

The Vihiga Senator argued that the decision to deny them access to the public gallery demonstrates to Kenyans that the house is an extension of the Executive.<\/p>\n

\u201cDenying us access is the lowest a speaker can go. We have a right to access the public gallery. Some proposals in the Finance Bill affect counties. We can\u2019t allow Parliament to be hijacked by Kenya Kwanza,\u201d Osotsi added.<\/p>\n

Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina accused the National Assembly Speaker of aiding the state capture of Parliament, turning it into an appendage of the Executive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Wetangula is forgetting is that power is transient. He is drunk with power. Why on earth would he deny Senators who are elected access to the gallery? He wasn\u2019t elected but appointed and then elected by the house,\u201d Ole Kina said.<\/p>\n

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna urged his counterparts in the National Assembly to vote against the Bill, warning that those who fail to adhere to the party\u2019s direction will face consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe High Court has declared sections on the recall of MPs unconstitutional because the previous Parliament made it impossible to recall MPs. After this vote, we will test that provision by recalling those who don\u2019t listen to what Kenyans are saying,\u201d Sifuna remarked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to pick two and demonstrate to them that they are not the bosses of the people; the people are the bosses,\u201d he added.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 20 \u2013 Opposition Senators have criticized National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, accusing him of heavy-handedness for denying them access to the public gallery to witness the debate and voting on the Finance Bill 2024. Senators Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi), Godfrey Osotsi (Vihiga), and Ledama Ole Kina (Narok) had written to National Assembly Clerk […]<\/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-55681","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\/55681","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=55681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55681\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}