This archive report was first published on 15 August 2019.
On Thursday, business was temporarily disrupted at Embu County Assembly after male Ward Representatives protested the dressing of a female nominated MCA, Lorna Kariuki.
According to reports, the drama started when Ms. Kariuki stood to contribute to a motion, declaring that her remarks would be 'as short as a miniskirt.'
However, Mavuria MCA Ngari Mbaka quickly drew the attention of the temporary Speaker, Philip Nzangi, to Ms. Kariuki's dressing, sparking a heated debate.
Mr. Mbaka demanded to know whether short dresses were allowed in the chambers, stating that 'when men dress improperly, they are thrown out of the House; but our dress code is too lenient on ladies, they are now provoking us.'
He pleaded with the temporary Speaker to be considerate to male MCAs and rule that female colleagues should stick to the prescribed dress-code.
Ms. Kariuki defended herself, telling the Speaker that she considers her dressing to be executive-like and challenged Mr. Mbaka to concentrate on legislative business instead of her dress.
She also protested that Mr. Mbaka was 'over-watching' her and should not be 'staring at me all the time.'
Despite the controversy, the temporary Speaker allowed Ms. Kariuki to continue contributing to the motion on the floor, arguing that he could not immediately establish whether her dress was too short as alleged.
He urged female MCAs to revisit the dress-code to avoid such altercations.
