Mumias East MP Peter Salasya during a parliament session on February 11, 2025./ Screengrab.Mumias East MP Peter Salasya on Tuesday found himself in a tight spot and forced was to apologise for livestreaming parliamentary proceedings.
The session was dominated by chaos and a power struggle over who between Kenya Kwanza and the Azimio Coalition should play the majority role in the House.
It followed a February 7 High Court ruling that faulted Speaker Moses Wetang’ula for declaring Kenya Kwanza the majority side.
During the ensuing melee, Salasya livestreamed the proceedings as Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah was on his feet, contributing to the debate on which side should assume the House leadership roles.
Wetang’ula allowed debate on the matter after members of the House failed to reach a unanimous decision even as the Azimio team led by Suna East MP Junet Mohamed assumed the majority role in line with the court ruling.
But it wasn’t until much later, when tempers had cooled down, that Ichung’wah brought it to the speaker’s attention that Salasya had been beaming the proceedings live on his social media handles.
“On a matter of decorum of the House, I was just perusing what is going on my phone, and I saw MP Salasya livestreaming the proceedings of the House,” Ichung’wah said.
“He was recording himself from his seat at the back; the House under the Parliamentary Service Commission has given us live coverage on national TV, and we cannot belittle the work of this House through livestreaming on your phone.”
Ichung'wah asked the speaker to order Salasya to apologise and pull down the video from his social media platforms.
Salasya initially denied knowledge of what Ichung’wah was saying terming them allegations he was yet to confirm.
“I don’t know what Ichung'wah is talking about, I also have my own contribution I wanted to make. Maybe MP Ichung’wah can say what I said,” Salasya said.
The Speaker cautioned the legislator saying that action will be taken against him if the allegations are found to be correct.
“I will instruct the Clerk, to get the logs on your phone, and if I find that what is being alleged is correct, I will invite a member to file a complaint and refer you to the Powers and Privileges Committee for appropriate action; you can also be named," said the Speaker.
“If you did that, I want to guide you as a young member because I want you to grow in your leadership. The Bible says the greatest word in human relations is one word called sorry. If you did that, say sorry and delete, and we move on.”
The legislator bowed to pressure and apologized to the House, saying he would delete the video on his social media platforms.
“Mr speaker, I apologise, withdraw, and delete,” Salasya said.
The Speaker directed the Clerk of the National Assembly should confirm with the legislator if he has deleted the videos.
