MP Thrown Out of Parliament After ‘Turning Up Drunk’
A heated confrontation erupted in Kenya’s National Assembly on Thursday, November 13, after Embakasi South MP Musili Mawathe was dramatically ordered out of the chamber over accusations that he appeared to be intoxicated during proceedings.
The incident unfolded shortly after the afternoon session began, prompting Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa to rise on a point of order. The Kikuyu MP claimed that Mawathe had been disrupting debate and displaying behaviour unbefitting of a member of the House.
“The MP clearly looks intoxicated,” Ichung’wa said, addressing the Speaker. “I know it is Thursday afternoon, but no one has the right to appear in the House drunk. And the MP cannot come to skew things in the House while clearly intoxicated. Speaker, I shall be moving to name the MP for seemingly looking very drunk.”
Video footage from the chamber showed parliamentary orderlies surrounding Mawathe as he attempted to speak into his microphone. His remarks were drowned out by an increasingly chaotic exchange, with several lawmakers shouting over each other.
Presiding over the session, Deputy Speaker Gladys Shollei intervened firmly, ruling that Mawathe had to leave the parliamentary precincts immediately.
“Honourable Mawathe, you are already expelled from the precincts of Parliament and therefore, you cannot even make a point of order,” Shollei declared. “Please leave. Sergeant-at-Arms, proceed to eject Mawathe from the House.”
What followed was a tense standoff. A visibly agitated Mawathe shouted at the Sergeant-at-Arms while repeatedly insisting he was already on his way out. At one point, he appeared to issue a threat toward another MP, prompting a sharp reaction from colleagues.
“Don’t be stupid,” Mawathe was heard shouting, as MPs responded with loud jeers.
A female legislator could be heard telling him:
“God is seeing you, and Kenyans are also seeing you.”
The confrontation ended only after orderlies escorted the Embakasi South MP from the chamber.
Public reaction online was swift, with many Kenyans expressing disappointment at the chaotic scenes in Parliament. Some questioned why no sobriety test had been conducted before declaring the MP intoxicated, while others criticised the conduct of lawmakers who traded insults during the altercation.
As of Friday morning, neither Mawathe nor the Wiper Party had issued an official statement responding to the allegations.
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MP Thrown Out of Parliament After ‘Turning Up Drunk’