Chaos in Parliament as controversial Privatization Bill passed, MP Mbui suspended after attempt to grab mace

The government has pushed through the National Assembly a bill proposing the privatisation of 67 state parastatals in a chaotic sitting this afternoon.

The Government-Owned Enterprises Bill was introduced for debate during the Committee of the Whole House through a supplementary order paper, sparking protests from Deputy Minority Whip Robert Mbui, who demanded that the bill be deferred to next week.

Members of the United Opposition claimed that there was no quorum in the House. Despite their persistent shouts of “Point of order! Point of order!”, Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei ignored them as Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah proceeded to read the bill for the third time.

Frustrated, the Deputy Minority Leader attempted to grab the mace but was restrained by orderlies. His actions were condemned by the Deputy Speaker, who ruled him out of order and suspended him from the House for five days.

“The reason I am ignoring you is because you are grossly out of order. In fact, you have attempted to grab the mace. I therefore order the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove you from the precincts of the House for five days,” ruled Shollei.

Frustrated, the few opposition members who remained in the chamber continued shouting “No quorum!” even as the bill was seconded by Marakwet East MP Kagongo Bowen.

Speaking after storming out of the House, opposition MPs termed the passage of the bill unconstitutional, citing the lack of quorum during the vote.

Mbui said he did not regret his actions and would lodge an official complaint with the substantive Speaker after his suspension.

“There was no reason for the Deputy Speaker to deny us an opportunity to speak. Kenyans must now know that we have a rogue Parliament being run like a marketplace. But I want to tell them that the fight is not over — it will continue after my five-day suspension,” said Mbui.

He further alleged that there was a hidden agenda behind the rush to pass the bill.

“There is a plan to privatize state corporations and I suspect there is an intention to hand them over to individuals. Why couldn’t they wait for debate on Tuesday? What was so urgent?” he posed.