• The motion to debate the report was moved on Wednesday where the House adopted it via a majority vote, upholding the decision to suspend her.
• However in a video message, Orwoba refuted claims that she was invited to appear before the committee to defend herself.
Image: FILE
Nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba has been suspended from the Senate and Parliament precincts for six months.
This was after the House on Wednesday adopted the Powers and Privileges Committee report tabled on August 10 which recommended her suspension for failing to appear before it to substantiate claims she made against her colleagues on corruption and sexual harassment.
The motion to debate the report was moved on Wednesday where the House adopted it via a majority vote, upholding the decision to suspend her.
"Having accorded Senator Gloria Orwoba an opportunity to be heard, the senator declined to participate in the inquiry by the committee on Powers and Privileges and hence the committee found the charges to stand,’’ the report states.
"The committee considered the evidence before it on this charge and given that there was no evidence to the contrary to refute the charge, the charge was therefore confirmed,” it added.
However, in a video message Wednesday, Orwoba refuted claims that she was invited to appear before the committee to defend herself.
The lawmaker termed as false claims by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna that she had an opportunity to substantiate her claims, twice, but snubbed the summons.
"Someone has called me and told me I'm being debated in Senate, I can't follow I'm on transit trying to get to my next meeting," she said.
"There are some allegations and some conversations that are actually not correct. I'm told that Senator Sifuna is talking about me being given an opportunity to defend myself and yet I refused to defend myself. First of all that is not the case," Orwoba said.
During debate on the motion to adopt the report, Sifuna said Orwoba is guilty as charged since she threw away the opportunity to set the record straight and absolve herself from blame.
"Senator Gloria having made those allegations, she had a responsibility to substantiate those allegations before the committee, she elected not to appear before that committee or to tender any evidence," Sifuna said.
"Those allegations remain unsubstantiated and therefore the punishment that has been proposed by the committee is something that I'm willing to support and I hereby support," he added.
Several other senators including Okiya Omtatah of Busia echoed the sentiments saying the report is detailed.
He however opined that the punishment proffered was too draconian and asked the House to consider adopting it with amendments to shorten the suspension period and for Orwoba to apologise.
“Let’s not punish to kill, let’s punish to correct,” he said.
While noting the gravity of the charges against her, the Powers and Privileges Committee recommended that Orwoba be suspended from the House for the remainder of the second session of the 13th Parliament, this being February.
The committee also recommended that the senator be denied access to the precincts of Parliament during the period during which time she would be denied the use or enjoyment of any unspecified facilities provided to Members of Parliament.
The senator had made allegations on social media to the effect that a senior Senate official had resorted to harassing her after she declined his sexual advances.
She also claimed that some of her colleagues were corruptly earning per diems in exchange for sexual favours and for their legislative agenda to sail through.
In her video message, Orwoba said she still stands by her claims and questioned why the motion to debate her conduct was moved on a day the House knew she was absent.
"This is a matter that is actually in court that's why I have not been commenting on it but Parliament has chosen to continue discussing and debating it therefore I have to add my voice.
"I still remain firm, that there are sexual favours and there are senators who are being paid because they are trading sexual favours for legislative agenda, for trips, for so many things," she said.
"The corruption is there, I'm a whistleblower and this is what I get for it and that's okay but let not anyone lie to you that I was given an opportunity. No. I was charged for complaining about the corruption that is going on in the Senate."