Nairobi – In the midst of a rambunctious National Assembly session, Sabina Chege, the Deputy Minority Whip and nominated Member of Parliament, found herself double-whammied. Not only did she endure an injury from an airborne bottle, but her prized iPhone 14 also decided to go on a little adventure of its own.
While nursing her wounds and licking her pride, Chege took to the stage at the inaugural coffee conference in Meru County. Turning her misfortune into a plea, she urged Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to become a modern-day Sherlock and help track down her absconded phone. “It seems my iPhone 14 developed a pair of legs during the physical scuffle,” she quipped, “I ask that you wield the powers of your office to ensure its safe return.”
Dewhipping Sabina Chege
The parliamentary fisticuffs were sparked by a high-noon standoff between the Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya Coalition and the Kenya Kwanza party. Speaker Wetangula, playing the role of the weary sheriff, was forced to call for a 20-minute ‘time-out’ as the ODM MPs protested his decision not to de-whip Chege.
The rumble in the political jungle resulted in a slew of suspensions, affecting not just Chege, but also a variety of colleagues including Millie Odhiambo, Rosa Buyu, Fatuma Mnyazi, Catherine Omanyo, Joyce Kamene and T.J Kajwang. The timeouts ranged from a brief five days to a more substantial two weeks.
Amidst this pandemonium, Speaker Wetang’ula had his hands bound tighter than a Christmas turkey, courtesy of a judicious court order. Even though the Azimio party had followed all protocols for a leadership shuffle, the speaker was handcuffed by legal constraints. A judicial speedbump on the highway to change, if you will.
In this game of thrones, the process to dethrone Chege as Deputy Minority Whip was delayed by Wetang’ula last month. He argued that Azimio hadn’t proposed a proper successor as required. However, the Azimio party’s Parliamentary Group, revealed their intended replacement – Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje. The plot, as they say, thickens.