MP faces 11-month ban, loss of perks after ejection from House

What you need to know:

  • National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi’s invocation of Standing Order 111 means that Mr Wandayi will not be allowed in the precincts of Parliament. This means the MP cannot enter the main buildings; neither will he have access to his office at Continental House across the road.
  • The stormy joint session of Parliament — when the MPs and senators convened in the National Assembly to listen to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s State of the Nation address — was the first case in recent history that the standing order, described by some as a ‘nuclear’ option, has been invoked.

His violent ejection marked the highlight of the protests in Parliament on Thursday, and now Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi will not step anywhere near Parliament until February next year.

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi’s invocation of Standing Order 111 means that Mr Wandayi will not be allowed in the precincts of Parliament. This means the MP cannot enter the main buildings; neither will he have access to his office at Continental House across the road.

The stormy joint session of Parliament — when the MPs and senators convened in the National Assembly to listen to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s State of the Nation address — was the first case in recent history that the standing order, described by some as a ‘nuclear’ option, has been invoked.

The people of Ugunja, one of the constituencies created in 2010, will not have a representative in the National Assembly. His office will also be closed and his staff — driver and personal assistant — most likely sent home.

On the financial side, MrWandayi’s only entitlement will be a Sh665,625 salary as he can not earn sitting allowances. It was not clear whether the MP will be in a position to claim reimbursement for mileage.

The outspoken ODM MP was still digesting the impact of his actions and the ruling by the Speaker yesterday and was reluctant to discuss his feelings about it, preferring to stay out of the picture for now.

“I haven’t gotten an official communication from the Office of the Clerk, so I would prefer not to comment for now,” said Mr Wandayi on the phone. “I know that we are on recess.”

His fellow ODM MP told the Saturday Nation on Friday that there was still no party position on whether to challenge Mr Wandayi’s suspension.

Kitutu Masaba MP Timothy Bosire, who was among the protesters and reluctantly stood to observe the moment of silence for Kenya’s fallen soldiers, said Speaker Muturi was harsh in choosing to have Mr Wandayi forcibly ejected.

He said it will set a bad precedent.

“He should have seen himself as a father or a guide to the rest,” said Mr Bosire. “His duty is to guide and not pass such a harsh judgment.

“What shall he gain in the circumstances?

“Mr Wandayi has not come to Parliament to belittle or humiliate anyone but to serve his people. In the course of serving his people, you might note excesses or other things and that’s why discretion and process is there.

“The Speaker should act differently.”

He asked the Speaker to “look through the provisions of the standing orders and laws that govern Parliament to see the best way he should address the matter of Mr Wandayi and every other MP “in the face of freedom of speech”.