Bungoma Senator David Wakoli was today forced to step down from chairing a Senate committee meeting that was supposed to question Governor George Natembeya on audit issues. This happened after Natembeya presented a video during the session, showing Senator Wakoli making what appeared to be threatening and biased remarks against him.
The video was recorded during a recent function held in Bungoma where Wakoli attended the event with National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula. In that meeting, Senator Wakoli was seen and heard declaring Governor Natembeya guilty even before the Senate committee could sit and review the audit issues.
He even warned the public to watch the upcoming hearing on TV, saying he would “deal with Natembeya” and went on to compare the governor to the biblical Barabbas, claiming that while Barabbas escaped crucifixion, Natembeya would now face it.
Those words caused a lot of concern, especially when the actual committee session started. Governor Natembeya, clearly angered by what had been said, came prepared with the video evidence.
He accused the senator of bias and claimed that he would not receive a fair hearing if Wakoli was allowed to chair the meeting. He pointed out that the committee was supposed to act like a courtroom, where everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that the chairperson must be neutral.
He told the committee that Wakoli’s words showed he had already made up his mind about the outcome, and therefore could not be trusted to lead the session fairly. He then formally demanded that the senator step aside and allow someone else to take over the chairing role.
The rest of the senators in the committee supported this request. The video was played before the whole house and everyone watched the remarks for themselves. After seeing the clip, the committee members agreed that Senator Wakoli’s comments were out of line and showed that he had judged the matter before it was even heard. With the evidence clearly against him and no support from the other senators, Wakoli had no choice but to accept the decision.
He agreed to stop chairing the meeting and said he would remain as a neutral member of the committee. He then called on Senator Tom Ojienda to take over as the chair of the session.
This incident has now raised serious concerns about fairness in Senate oversight and the need for leaders to avoid making prejudicial remarks before formal hearings take place.
