Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and Starehe MP Charles Njagua were on Wednesday compelled to apologise on the floor of the National Assembly over a scuffle between them that took place last year.
The apology session briefly turned light-hearted after Owino told the House that he had not slapped Njagua. Instead, he said Jaguar’s cheek had “moved toward my hand.”
“I did not slap Jaguar, his cheek moved toward my hand,” Owino said on the floor of the House.
Acting Speaker Moses Cheboi was not amused by the remark and ordered Owino to apologise again, saying the first attempt had been made in jest.
The two legislators had been summoned by the Powers and Privileges Committee, which is chaired by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi.
The committee said the confrontation had embarrassed the House and diminished its dignity, even though the MPs had previously apologised and agreed to work together.
Owino’s comments added to a pattern of playful interventions that have drawn attention in Parliament. During the oath-taking ceremony for MPs last year, he swore allegiance to his party leader Raila Odinga rather than President Uhuru Kenyatta, prompting laughter in the chamber before he was required to retake the oath properly.
