Kakamega Senator and Senate Majority Whip Boni Khalwale was on Tuesday ordered out of the Senate chamber after refusing to withdraw a statement claiming that former President Uhuru Kenyatta personally intervened to secure the release of two Kenyan activists previously detained in Uganda.
The confrontation began when Khalwale compared the situation of Kenyan children allegedly stranded abroad to the case of the two activists held in Uganda. He questioned why the reported intervention came from a former Head of State rather than the current administration.
“The issue of the children who are out of the country is no different from the two Kenyan political activists who were locked up in Uganda for a long time. It disturbs me that it took the intervention of the former President, and not the current President,” Khalwale stated.
His comments immediately drew a sharp response from Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, who demanded that Khalwale back his allegations with evidence or withdraw them in line with parliamentary procedure.
“We must stick to the rules, Mr. Speaker. When the Senator goes on record claiming the former President intervened for the release of Kenyans, can he provide evidence? We don’t want hearsays from chang’aa drinking dens in Ikolomani brought to the Senate,” Cherargei objected.
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi upheld the challenge, directing Khalwale to either substantiate his claim or retract it. The Standing Orders require a member to provide proof when making assertions involving a person not present in the House.
Khalwale, however, stood his ground. He argued that his remarks were based on widely known information and insisted he was not obligated to justify what he termed “obvious facts.” He went further to accuse fellow legislators of abusing points of order to silence debate.
The Speaker remained firm, ruling that Khalwale must comply with House rules.
When the Senator repeatedly declined to withdraw or offer evidence, Speaker Kingi declared him out of order and ordered his immediate removal from the chamber.
The activists at the center of the debate had reportedly been held in Uganda for more than a month, a matter that had previously sparked national discussion. Khalwale’s comments reignited questions about diplomatic interventions and the role of both past and present administrations in such cases.
The incident exposed simmering tensions within the Senate, highlighting the delicate balance between freedom of expression and adherence to parliamentary procedure.
