This archive report was first published on 1 November 2019.
On October 30, 2019, a sitting of the Kenyan National Assembly turned into a comedy show as Members of Parliament (MPs) struggled to express themselves in Swahili, the country's national language.
According to a video posted on the Parliament YouTube Channel, the legislators were captured fumbling to find the right Swahili words, leaving their colleagues in a fit of laughter.
Majority Leader Aden Duale was forced to issue a humorous disclaimer, apologizing to Tanzanian counterparts who might have been watching the 'massacre of Swahili grammar.'
‘I would like to apologize to our Tanzanian brothers if they are listening and following this debate on TV to forgive us, because you know, we have started today,’ Duale said during the National Assembly’s inaugural public forum for committees.
Minority Leader Junet Mohamed urged Speaker Justin Muturi to enforce the Standing Orders, which disallow MPs from reading from their scripts translated into Swahili.
‘You are only allowed to refer briefly to what you have written but not reading. You have to enforce this because it’s like the Majority Leader is reading a statement. It’s like he’s making a speech in Parliament. He’s supposed to speak without reading,’ Mohamed said as he struggled to find the right words.
Suba MP Millie Odhiambo suggested incorporating Sheng, the slang spoken by majority of the youths in the country, into the Standing Orders of the National Assembly.
