Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, came to the defence of a section of Kenyans who celebrated Kenya’s failure to win the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship contest.
Speaking on the floor of the house, Senator Onyonka decried sustained attacks directed at those who openly rejected former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s bid and instead endorsed Mahmoud Ali Youssouf who went on to clinch the highly coveted AUC chairman position.
The vocal lawmaker indicated that those who celebrated the win were more concerned about the state of the country. He noted that their expression of joy despite a setback was their way of showing optimism that Raila would help address some of the issues bedevilling the nation at the moment.
Onyonka thus implored his colleagues to go slow on their attacks directed at those who celebrated the loss.
“I have heard my colleagues say that our people are celebrating because Raila Odinga lost. Yes, they celebrated because they were fearful,” Onyonka stated.
“They want Raila to come back because the country looks unstable,” he further clarified.
Immediately after the elections were called, celebrations emerged in some parts of the country while others started chanting ‘Ruto must go.’
Castigation in parliament
In a Parliament session on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, several legislators reprimanded those who celebrated Raila’s AUC loss.
Suba East Member of Parliament Junet Mohamed threatened to revisit those who openly campaigned against Raila. The lawmaker termed the move as unpatriotic.
Nonetheless, he pleaded with Kenyans to rally behind their fellow countrymen who are taking a stab at international roles instead of opposing them.
“Kenyans knew well that this was not an election that was going to happen in the country. This was an election that was happening at the African Union, and some Kenyans became so unpatriotic by supporting a candidate against Kenya and even campaigning for him openly on social media and all kinds of spheres,” he stated.
“What has shocked me is the celebration that happened in some parts of the country after we lost that election, this was not a Kenyan contest.”
His sentiments were echoed by a few other MPs who called on Kenyans to show patriotism instead of allowing internal affairs to divide them on the global stage.
