MP Caroli Omondi suspended from Parliament after telling Kaluma to 'stop being stupid'

Suba South Member of Parliament Caroli Omondi has been suspended from the National Assembly for five sitting days after being found guilty of using unparliamentary language during debate on the floor of the House.

The decision was made on Thursday by Temporary Speaker Peter Kaluma after a heated exchange in which Omondi questioned the lack of quorum before allegedly telling the Chair to "stop being stupid."

The confrontation, which happened during debate on the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, began after Kaluma recognised Omondi to contribute to debate, giving him less than three minutes to speak.

Instead, Omondi rose on Standing Order No. 35, complaining that members had waited for hours to debate the matter before drawing the Speaker's attention to what he said was a lack of quorum in the House.

"Honourable Speaker, it's very unfair. We sit here for four hours waiting to debate this and then you want to take it away from us," Omondi said before invoking the Standing Order.

His remarks immediately drew protests from members, with Matuga MP Kassim Tandaza accusing him of using derogatory language against colleagues.

Kaluma then sought clarification from Omondi over whether he had uttered the words "stop being stupid."

Omondi denied directing the remarks at either the Speaker or the House, insisting he had instead said, "We're not stupid," and repeatedly urged the Chair to "get the Hansard."

"I said we are not stupid... I did not say the Speaker or the House. If you want me to withdraw the word 'stupid', I've withdrawn it," Omondi said.

Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah also weighed in, urging the Speaker to verify the Hansard and arguing that Omondi had indeed told the Chair to "stop being stupid."

"I would like us to go back to the Hansard because the honourable Caroli Omondi indeed did utter those words," Ichung'wah said.

After consulting the official record, Kaluma informed the House that the Hansard had confirmed Omondi used the disputed phrase and gave him several opportunities to make what he termed an unequivocal withdrawal and apology.

Although Omondi repeatedly withdrew the remarks and apologised to both the Speaker and the House, he maintained that his recollection was that he had said "we're not stupid" before once again raising the issue of quorum under Standing Order No. 35.

Kaluma ruled that Omondi had failed to comply with his directions in the manner required and invoked Standing Order 107A on gross disorderly conduct.

Reading the Standing Order to the House, Kaluma noted that members who refuse to retract unparliamentary language or apologise after being directed by the Chair commit an act of gross disorderly conduct punishable by suspension.

"This being the first time I'm meting out this punishment, I will suspend you from the House for a period of the minimum five days, so that it is a caution to all of us," Kaluma ruled.

He then ordered Omondi to leave the precincts of Parliament immediately, with the suspension taking effect for the next five sitting days.