Senators' protest forces police withdrawal during polls law debate

Police beat a hasty retreat from Parliament and its precincts after angry senators roundly protested their presence yesterday.

Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro asked the Security committee of the House to investigate why police were deployed to guard Parliament. He made the request when senators began the special sitting by demanding the removal of the security officers or the suspension of the debate.

The leaders from both Jubilee and CORD cited intimidation, saying the police presence was a threat to the Senate's independence.

Police had barricaded Parliament Road and Harambee Avenue using seven huge water cannons. More police officers patrolled the area outside Parliament Buildings.

And just as happened last week, when the National Assembly had special sittings, senators were forced to walk to Parliament.

"Why is the gallery empty? Why is Parliament barricaded? Is this is the Parliament we want? What we want from you Mr Speaker is to suspend this sitting and demand the Executive withdraw the security," protested CORD co-principal and Senate Minority Leader Moses Wetang'ula.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  Paralysed woman charts her way out of pain through craft, music
• 
  You have let us down, UDA tells Sakaja over rot at City Hall
• 
  In Pictures: Kelvin Kiptum's burial
• 
  EACC blames lack of records management for graft in counties

Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki said senators had never engaged in chaos, stating that deploying heavy security to police the House during a debate was an attempt to create tension and fear among the legislators.

"It is not right for anybody to ask police to camp outside Parliament. Let it be condemned in the strongest terms possible," said Prof Kindiki.

But Mr Ethuro told the House that he had not instructed the officers to come to Parliament.

"My instructions were clear that we don't need police officers. When I came here in the morning I called Nkaissery (Interior Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Nkaissery). I am therefore going to tell the police again that we don't need them," said the Speaker.

Senators Kiraitu Murungi (Meru) and Kipchumba Murkomen (Elgeyo Marakwet) however attempted to defend the decision to deploy police, citing the chaos and fistfights witnessed when members of the National Assembly passed the now controversial election laws.

"I think the police are acting based on their experience when the MPs' debates degenerated into a fistfight," said Kiraitu.