Sifuna loses his cool as he lectures Cherargei over ‘tutam’ remarks in Senate
Drama unfolded in the Senate during a heated session when Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna furiously confronted Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei over his controversial ‘two-term’ remarks, accusing him of turning parliamentary proceedings into a platform for political theatrics.
The July 22, 2025, incident began when Senator Cherargei, while addressing the house, made a remark referring to President William Ruto as ‘a man of two terms’, a statement that immediately triggered murmurs in the chamber.
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“The event was graced by none other than His Excellency President William Ruto. A man of two terms,” Cherargei declared, prompting the Speaker to intervene.
“Senator Cherargei, there is a point of order. Please sit down,” the speaker ordered, cutting short his statement.
Seizing the moment, Senator Sifuna rose on a point of order and sharply criticised Cherargei for what he termed as careless and unapproved utterances.
He reminded Cherargei that only statements approved by the Speaker are permitted to be read in Parliament.
“Madam Speaker, the rules of this House require that statements be approved by your office and, when they come on the floor, they be read as approved as is,” Sifuna stated.
He demanded clarity on whether the “two-term” remark was officially part of Cherargei’s statement, accusing him of turning serious deliberations into political rallies.
“Can we confirm from the text that was approved by the Speaker whether the question of one term or two terms was included in that statement by the Senator of Nandi? Because this is not a place for jokes, Honourable Speaker. We are not here to play games,” he said.
Sifuna went on to deliver a blistering lecture, urging Cherargei to separate serious legislative business from political campaigns.
He lashed out at Cherargei, telling him that if he wanted platforms to recklessly throw around such political rhetoric, he should organise a rally outside Parliament, insisting that such remarks were doing nothing but squandering the valuable time of an important plenary session.
“Let him confirm to us, and Speaker, you can confirm whether that word he has used is in that statement. If he wants to make his own statements, he can go to rallies out there in Kapsabet. But here, we are here for serious business. You cannot waste our time listening to rubbish,” Sifuna lashed out.
The political debate around President Ruto’s tenure has given rise to local slang where ‘two-term’ is now widely referred to as ‘tutam’ in casual political conversations.
Similarly, the phrase ‘one-term’ has been humorously rebranded as ‘wantam’, a term that has quickly gained traction among Kenyans discussing the ongoing political discourse.
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Steve Ireri
Steve is a senior writer with over four years of experience in digital journalism. His focus is on the showbiz and human interest stories. Emails: [email protected] , [email protected]
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