Drama as fart from Kenyan lawmaker forces speaker to suspend debate

Drama unfolded in a Kenyan regional assembly on Wednesday after one member of the House farted during a heated debate, bringing proceedings to a standstill.

The lawmakers at Homa Bay County Assembly had returned from a lunch break in a hot afternoon and were having a debate about market stalls when it was interrupted by a foul smell, according to local media Nairobi Wire.

The Member of the County Assembly (MCA) for Homa Bay Town East ward, Juma Awuor, was on the floor discussing the heated topic when he was interrupted by the presiding speaker Edwin Kakach.

The speaker’s attention had apparently been drawn to a group of male MCAs who were pointing fingers at each other.

“Honourable Speaker, one of us has polluted the air and I know who it is,” Julius Gaya reportedly told Homa Bay county assembly.

But the member he accused of farting allegedly replied: “I am not the one. I cannot do such a thing in front of my colleagues.”

The speaker then directed members to step outside and take a break from the chamber.

For about ten minutes, proceedings were suspended as members walked out to get fresh air.

Media reports also state that the speaker asked his officials to bring in air fresheners.

“Let the sergeant spray the air with fresheners to make it pleasant. Get whatever flavour you will find in any office, whether it’s vanilla or strawberry. We cannot continue sitting in an environment that smells bad,” Kakach ordered.

But before the sergeants could get back to the house, the odour had cleared and the debate continued.

This incident comes just days after a Kenyan lawmaker, Zuleikha Hassan, was ejected from the floor of the National Assembly with her 5-month-old baby.

Hassan, a mother of three, said she couldn’t make arrangements for the baby and since she did not want to miss work, she had to bring the child along.

But Christopher Omulele, temporary speaker of the National Assembly, said: “As much as she might want to take care of her child, this is not the place for it.”

Hassan was ordered to leave the chamber. Scores of legislators also walked out in protest of the incident which interestingly happened during World Breastfeeding Week.