Gloria Orwoba addresses past viral incident of Ruto pinching her in public
By Ascah Mwango, September 2, 2025Former nominated senator Gloria Orwoba has launched a blistering attack on President William Ruto, revisiting a viral moment from last year when the Head of State playfully pinched her during a press event.
Orwoba has now claimed the pinch was far from a lighthearted gesture, saying it was actually the President’s way of reprimanding her for being outspoken against his allies in the Senate.
She explained that tensions had been simmering before the incident, particularly over her criticism of Kimani Kuria, who had been tasked with steering Ruto’s controversial tax plan. Orwoba felt Kuria was withholding crucial information, especially in relation to her push to address period poverty in Kenya.
“The pinch was President Ruto’s way of reprimanding me for being critical of his allies in our Senate discussions. Leading up to that moment, I had been quite forthright in questioning why Kimani Kuria, who had been assigned the task of overseeing Ruto’s controversial tax plan, was not sharing relevant information with the group, especially on my efforts to end period poverty in Kenya,” she explained.
She recounted that during the exchange, the President confronted her about her tough stance in their Senate WhatsApp group, accusing her of being overly critical of his allies.
Orwoba maintained that she was simply demanding accountability and urged him to focus on his role while allowing senators to do theirs. Her defiance, she said, seemed to irritate Ruto, who pinched her again after sensing she was not backing down.
“He turned to me and said, ‘Eeh, you are here.’ He was furious that I had insulted his ally in the WhatsApp group. Then he pinched me and told me, ‘You’re being too tough on people in the WhatsApp group. What is this?’ Then I told him why Kimani Kuria is not giving out information. Then he told me to stop being tough on people. I told him to do his job and let us do our job and other MPs laughed. It was a brief exchange. He then realised that I had not responded positively, and he turned back and pinched me again,” the embattled former nominated senator added.
At the time of the playful and viral pinch, Orwoba was a vocal member of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), the party that had nominated her to the Senate.
Political woes
Fast-forward to late August 2025, and Gloria Orwoba’s political career has taken a dramatic turn.
On August 20, 2025, the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal nullified her expulsion from UDA, declaring it procedurally unfair. Despite this ruling, she was barred from entering the Senate.
On August 27, she confronted security officers at the Senate gate armed with court reinstatement orders, insisting she was legally entitled to resume her duties. In dramatic scenes that went viral, she stood firm, declaring,
“I am here to go back to work as per the court’s instructions and judgments. I am just coming to work.”
Chaos broke out when her car, a white Land Cruiser Prado, was towed after she blocked the Senate entrance. As she attempted to resist the impound, three female police officers whisked her away as colleagues watched. Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale tried to calm the situation, but his efforts bore little fruit.
Orwoba accused the Senate of illegality, claiming her replacement, Consolata Wakwabubi, was unlawfully sworn in to occupy her seat.
“As long as Consolata Wakwabubi is sitting in the Senate, that sitting is illegal. That is a stranger on the floor of the house. There is no impeachment with a stranger in the house. That will be the basis of an appeal of whatever outcome that will come out of the impeachment,” she said.
She also accused Senate Speaker Amason Kingi of enabling what she termed as lawlessness.
The standoff culminated in Orwoba’s arrest on charges of disturbing the peace and obstructing justice. She was detained at the Central Police Station in Nairobi before being released on a cash bail of Ksh10,000.