Sifuna proposes swahili senate session to clap back at Tanzania’s MPs
Nairobi County Senator Edwin Sifuna has given a proposal for the parliament to conduct its business on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in the Swahili language to clap back at Tanzania’s Members of Parliament (MPs).
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General, in a statement issued via his official X account on the night of Monday, May 26, 2025, said that the lawmakers will be forced to use Swahili so that their Tanzanian counterparts can get them clearly.
“Kesho italazim Kiswahili tu bungeni ili wenzetu wa Tanzania watupate kwa njia ya uhakiki (Loosely translated: Tomorrow, only Kiswahili will be allowed in Parliament so that our brothers and sisters in Tanzania can understand us clearly,” Sifuna stated.
Sifuna’s remarks come hours after Tanzania MPs blasted activist Boniface Mwangi and People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua, while defending President Samia Suluhu following allegations of harassment and mistreatment of Kenyan activists in the East African country.
In a heated parliamentary session on Monday, May 26, several Tanzanian MPs condemned what they described as the bad behaviour of Kenyan activists.
They argued that Kenyan activists have been going to disrupt peace in Tanzania.
In a video that has since gone viral, one of the lawmakers, Joseph Musukuma, is heard saying that Tanzania has nothing to learn from Kenya since they surpass the country in almost everything.
He further accused Mwangi and Karua of being the Gen Z leaders in Kenya, noting the two will not be allowed to destroy Tanzania the way they have done to Kenya.
“Sisi Tanzania hatuna cha kujifunza Kenya. Hatuna hata kimoja cha kujifunza. Tunawazidi siasa, tunawazidi akili, tunawazidi kila kitu, na wala swala la kiingereza, sisi sio kipao mbele. Tuna maisha yetu. Kwani waombe sana vyombo vya ulinzi na usalama, msikubali kuruhusu hawa watu waje watuharibie nchi yetu. Niwaombe sana, huyo Mwangi na Martha Karua ndo vinara wa Gen Z kule. Wameharibu nchi yao wameekwa na ndani. Wametoka kule wamekuja tena Tanzania. Tunawaomba Wakenya, hatuna ugomvi na wakenya wa kawaida, tuna ugomvi na wanaharakati,” the MP said.
Loosely translated as “Those counterparts from Kenya, we want to tell them that Tanzanians have nothing to learn from Kenyans. We are better than you when it comes to politics; we are smarter than you and better than you in everything else. On the matter of English, that is not a priority for us. We have our own lives. We are asking our military officers not to permit such individuals to enter and destroy the peace we have worked hard to maintain. They have already ruined their country and now want to do the same here. We won’t allow it. They have already ruined their country and now want to do the same here. We won’t allow it.”
