There was drama at the Senate on Wednesday, following an altercation between Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and his Garissa counterpart Mohamed Haji.
The two reacted following an address by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, during a plenary session discussing the controversial death of blogger Albert Omondi Ojwang in police custody.
This was after Senators began disagreeing on the matter, just after Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja took the floor, but before he could speak, there was a disruption.
The Senate has suspended its plenary sitting for two hours to informally interrogate top security officials over Ojwang’s death.
Senators passed a procedural motion to allow for an informal session with Murkomen, Kanja, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss, Mohamed Amin, and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority representative.
The informal setting allows all senators to directly question the top officials over the circumstances surrounding Ojwang’s death in police custody.
Some senators, however, raised concerns about whether resolutions made during an informal session would carry legal weight, given that the official sitting had been suspended.
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi clarified that the Senate Clerk would prepare a formal report from the meeting, which would inform the House’s official resolution and ensure legal validity.
“I can assure you that the resolutions of this meeting will be recorded by the Clerk,” Kingi said, responding to concerns raised by Senate Majority Whip Boni Khalwale.
“This is not a committee of the whole. We have suspended the sitting to hold a session with the CS, and I don’t need to report after this session.”
by SHARON MWENDE
