Nominated Senator Karen Nyamu has blamed the devil for her recent controversial remarks in Parliament concerning a Grade 10 student who was visiting the Senate gallery, asking Kenyans to understand her mistake.
Speaking during a public gathering in Kamukunji, she said, "The other day, you know there was a kind of blunder you saw in Parliament. Sometimes a person gets confused, maybe it is the devil or something like that. You know I am one of you and you have known me for many years.”
“As you know me, I can speak about a small child like that and I also have a young child. These are things we cannot explain, I do not know and I did not mean it the way it is being said. When we make a blunder, we move on. I have no ill intention towards anyone’s child and God knows," Nyamu added.
The remarks come days after the nominated senator was forced to apologise over comments she made while welcoming a student participating in the Senate’s school volunteer service programme.
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The female student had been seated in the Speaker’s Gallery on Wednesday when Nyamu questioned her role in the House, remarks that sparked widespread criticism online, with many Kenyans terming them inappropriate and disrespectful towards the minor.
Following the uproar, Senate Speaker Amason Kingi directed the senator to issue an apology before the House.
Nyamu later admitted her remarks were inappropriate and issued an unreserved apology to the Senate, the student, her family and the public.
While delivering the apology, she acknowledged that her statements failed to meet the dignity and decorum expected of a state officer, adding that she complied out of respect for Senate procedures and to avoid further disciplinary action.
“I acknowledge that the utterances I made on while welcoming the student were inappropriate and fell short of the dignity, decorum and respect expected of a state officer, particularly towards a young female learner,” she said at that time.
Despite the apology, the incident continued to attract backlash from women leaders and politicians across the country.
“That was not a joke. It was a sexual innuendo directed at a 15-year-old girl by Karen Nyamu, a sitting senator of the Republic of Kenya and a mother of daughters herself. What makes it even more disturbing is the lack of remorse. The apology was clearly reluctant and only came after sustained pressure from fellow senators and public outrage," said Pauline Njoroge in a Facebook post.