Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has been suspended from the Senate for three sitting days after refusing to withdraw the word “yapping” in reference to President William Ruto’s roadside declaration on undocumented immigrants.
Omtatah said he was ejected from the Senate Chamber on Thursday, September 10, after challenging the Speaker’s ruling requiring.
In a statement issued after the incident, the senator maintained that he respected the authority of the Chair but would not abandon what he described as his constitutional responsibility to hold the government to account.
“I have been suspended from the @Senate_KE for three sitting days for REFUSING to withdraw the word ‘yapping’ in describing the President’s ROADSIDE declaration on undocumented immigrants,” Omtatah said.
The senator anchored his argument on Article 135 of the Constitution, which provides that a decision by the President in the performance of a constitutional function must be in writing and bear the President’s seal and signature.
Omtatah argued that a roadside statement could not automatically acquire the force of a formal presidential decision merely because it was made by the Head of State.
“A roadside utterance cannot acquire the force of law simply because it comes from the President,” he said, maintaining that his use of the word “yapping” was intended to question the constitutional and legal weight of the declaration rather than insult the presidency.
In his written response to the Speaker, Omtatah also cited a 2020 exchange in the British House of Commons where then Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford used the phrase “yapping, bumbling, mumbling” during Prime Minister’s Questions.
He argued that the incident demonstrated that such language had previously been used in parliamentary debate without being treated as unparliamentary.
Omtatah further contended that his case raised a wider question about the limits of parliamentary criticism, warning that lawmakers should be able to scrutinise government actions without being unduly restricted by rules governing language.
“If calling out UNCONSTITUTIONAL governance is punishable, then the greater danger is not the word ‘yapping’. It is the growing intolerance for accountability,” he said.
The senator vowed that his three-day suspension would not stop him from challenging decisions he considers inconsistent with the Constitution.
“Three days outside the Chamber will not silence me. I will continue to defend the Constitution and the Kenyan people,” Omtatah said.