Drama as speaker throws out Senator Eddy Oketch from chambers
Drama unfolded in the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, after acting Speaker Senator Catherine Mumma expelled Migori Senator Eddy Oketch from the chambers.
Oketch had requested the speaker to honour a request by Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale to adjourn the session for five minutes so as to receive a petition by the striking Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers.
However, Mumma was having none of it, even as the Migori senator insisted on the adjournment.
We are requesting that you adjourn the house for five minutes so that we can go and get those petitions from the striking UHC workers, madam speaker, because the strike is ongoing and healthcare is crippled,” Oketch stated.
Tensions flare
In her response, acting speaker Mumma urged the senator to sit down, noting that the request he was making had already been ruled on.
“Senator Eddy, please sit down. What you are raising was raised by Senator Khalwale, and the speaker on the chair made a ruling on that,” Mumma said.
“It is my decision that we finish the questions, then we will do this,” she added.
However, Oketch was not taking no for an answer, prompting a dramatic confrontation with the acting speaker.
“Senator Eddy, pursuant to Standing Order 121, I have cited you for disorderly conduct. I have hereby directed that you leave the House. The Sergeant at arms can proceed to move him out,” Mumma directed.
At this point, a few sergeants-at arms could be seen negotiating with the Migori senator, who had held his ground that he was not leaving the chamber.
Tensions flared in the Senate when other senators milled around Oketch, attempting to defy the direction given by the speaker.
Ejected from Senate
“Senator Eddy, I have directed that you withdraw from the House. Sergeant at arms, we will not proceed unless you escort Senator Eddy out. Please do not defy the orders of this House,” Mumma repeated her orders.
With an increased number of sergeants-at-arms, the vocal senator left the chambers furious that his request was unheard, and that his insistence had expelled him from the morning session.
The UHC health workers have been on strike since February 2025, and their attempts to meet the Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to address their issues have been futile.
The striking health workers seek that their employment terms be reviewed, contracts renewed and salary disparities addressed.
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Arnold Ngure
General reporter with a bias for crime reporting, human interest stories and tech. Reach out via: [email protected]
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