Booted: Eddy Oketch ordered to leave Senate for disorderly conduct

Migori Senator Eddy Oketch was ordered out of the Senate chambers after a heated exchange with temporary Speaker Catherine Mumma on Wednesday, May 14.

Senator Mumma directed that Oketch stay away for the remaining session over disorderly conduct.

Trouble began when Oketch sought clarity from Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale regarding the welfare of the striking  Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers who had been transferred to county governments but had not been paid.

“What is the CS doing to resolve the strike of UHC workers?” Oketch asked. “Will those transferred to the county government be paid by the national government the same way community health workers are paid?”

He continued, “Is the CS going to ensure they are put on  permanent and pensionable terms in the ongoing budget preparation?”

However, Speaker Mumma appeared reluctant to allow Oketch a second round of questioning, citing time constraints, which sparked a tense back-and-forth.

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“There are many questions that have been asked, but for the interest of time, may you postpone all the questions and let the CS answer the UHC one?” Oketch appealed.

“I have ruled on that question,” Mumma responded.

“I’m not overruling you on that. I’m just requesting for indulgence,” Oketch insisted.

Despite pleas from fellow senators, Speaker Mumma stood her ground and ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove Oketch from the chamber.

“You are now becoming a nuisance,” she said.

Even as the commotion unfolded, the CS remained firm, saying that the ministry was not planning to move UHC workers back to the national government payroll, signalling no immediate relief for the striking workers.