This archive report was first published on 8 August 2019.
On August 8, 2019, Kenya's Parliament was in turmoil as the last day of World Breastfeeding Week came to a close.
Kwale Woman Representative Zulekha Hassan walked into the National Assembly with her five-month-old baby, sparking a heated debate among lawmakers.
Ms. Hassan entered the debating chamber and took a seat between Homa Bay MP Peter Kaluma and his Alego Usonga counterpart Samuel Atandi.
However, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale immediately drew the attention of temporary Deputy Speaker Chris Omulele to the 'presence of a stranger' in the House.
Mr. Omulele directed Zulekha to immediately withdraw from the chamber, but Mr. Atandi and Mr. Kaluma shielded her from the House orderlies.
A 20-minute standoff ensued after fellow women MPs joined Atandi and Kaluma in forming a human shield around Zulekha.
Laikipia North MP Sarah Korere then took the baby from Zulekha and led the women out of the chamber.
Ms. Hassan explained that she had an emergency and decided not to miss work but come with the baby, saying, 'She is not an atomic bomb and can't explode.'
Ms. Hassan also stated that she had not brought her previous two children to the House since she came to Parliament in 2013.
She claimed that the Parliamentary Service Commission had given approval for a breastfeeding room to be set up in August 2013, but it had not been implemented.
MPs Rachael Nyamai and Sofia Noor threatened to marshal all women with lactating children to go with them to the House if the PSC did not provide a breastfeeding room.
Ms. Noor questioned the fate of working mothers in the rest of the country, saying, 'This child has a right. If they don't establish a breastfeeding room then we will urge all women with breastfeeding children to come with their children in the chamber so as to send a message.'
Ms. Nyamai also questioned why the PSC had failed to give priority to young mothers by setting up a crèche.
MPs Kaluma and Atandi defended Ms. Hassan's actions, saying that Parliament had passed a law mandating the establishment of lactating rooms countrywide.
They argued that the law should not be in vain and that Ms. Hassan had raised a very important issue on public policy.
It is worth noting that in 2017, lawmakers unanimously voted to pass a Bill that seeks to compel employers to construct special rooms for lactating mothers.
The law requires employers to give mothers regular breaks lasting not more than 40 minutes every four hours to facilitate breastfeeding.
