In Summary
- Senate Committee Recommends Suspension of Nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba over Alleged Gross Misconduct
- Orwoba repeatedly called for the impeachment of Clerk of the Senate, Jeremiah Nyegenye, for alleged harassment.
The Senate Powers and Privileges Committee has recommended the suspension of nominated senator Gloria Orwoba from the House until February of next year.
This comes in the wake of serious allegations raised by Orwoba against some members of the senate which the senate found to be false.
Chaired by Speaker Amason Kingi, the committee conducted an investigation into the allegations made by Orwoba.
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The nominated senator had accused senate’s clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye of various misconducts including sexual harassment, favoritism, corruption, and kickbacks for legislative agendas.
However, the committee’s findings concluded that her claims lacked credible evidence and were inconsistent with the conduct of her fellow senators.
Yesterday afternoon senators convened to receive and debate on the report presented by the powerful committee chaired by speaker Amason Kingi.
The committee’s verdict described Orwoba’s conduct as “uncouth” and “becoming less honorable.”
The committee stated that her actions were in violation of parliamentary privileges and that her allegations tarnished the reputation of her colleagues.
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“It is too extreme for the Committee on Powers and Privileges to take make such drastic recommendations when there are other options that this House could explore,”
Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogeni said.
Of particular note were Orwoba’s actions on the Senate business WhatsApp group, where she repeatedly called for the impeachment of Clerk of the Senate, Jeremiah Nyegenye, for alleged harassment.
“Feeling frustrated, backed to the corner and completely let down by the systems in place, I presented a personal statement in Parliament to give account to what is happening to me and definitely many other parliamentarians who are suffering in silence,”
she said.
Her posts were accompanied by hashtags such as #ImpeachNyegenye, #Nosexforwork, and #Nokickbackforlegislativeagenda.
Debate on Report Suspended
In addition to these claims, she also alleged favoritism, discrimination, and corruption within the parliamentary environment.
“A few days after my presentation, the same powerful office engineered a retaliation attack by having the Powers and Privilege Committee summon me with charges that clearly have no basis and an outright attempt to silence me from speaking about the sexual harassment by using standing order 100,”
In a surprising turn, the nominated senator was granted a temporary reprieve when the Senate halted the motion to suspend her from the house for a period of six months.
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This unexpected move was prompted by orders from higher authorities to cease the ongoing debate regarding Orwoba’s suspension.
“We are pleading with the Speaker to allow us to review this matter before we can address it on the floor of the House. The Clerk has been accused yet there was no substance in the matter,”
Majority Leader of the Senate Aaron Cheruiyot stated.
