National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has reprimanded Mumias East MP Peter Salasya for his continued absenteeism from parliamentary sessions.

The confrontation arose after Salasya demanded to be given a chance to contribute to a debate on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. The House was responding to calls by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who had proposed the scrapping of the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (CDF), an issue that Salasya has publicly condemned Raila for.

Wetang’ula explained that priority in such debates is given to legislators who are consistently present in the chamber. He stressed that MPs who rarely miss sittings are the ones more likely to be recognised for contributing to key motions.

“To members like Salasya, when we have a motion like this, the speaker gives priority to members who are regularly here. If you are not regular in the house, you are unlikely to get the favour of the speaker. To speak simply, this is topical,” Wetang’ula stated.

“There are members who have been here for a long time, waiting to speak; sometimes they don’t get the opportunity to speak. Those are my priorities,” he added.

Comparison with Nyikal

The Speaker cited examples of members who regularly attend sessions, including Seme MP James Nyikal, who also chairs the Health Committee, noting his constant presence in the House. He further likened such dedication to that of veteran legislator Martin Shikuku, who was famously committed to parliamentary business.

Dr Nyikal is like the new Martin Shikuku; the speaker always finds Martin Shikuku in the house and leaves him there, and for the entire afternoon, you will never see Martin Shikuku responding to even a call of nature.

Wetang’ula advised Salasya to purposefully attend sessions if he wished to gain the speaker’s attention during debates.

Salasya’s love for social media

The speaker has also taken issue with Salasya’s love for social media, saying that if his habit is putting more focus on TikTok rather than parliament, then it will be difficult for the speaker to grant him such a change.

“So I want to encourage the young Salasya: if you want to catch the speaker’s eye, spend more time in the house, but if you choose to transact house matters on TikTok, the situation will be different,” Wetangula stated.

During the session, the legislators came out to vehemently oppose Raila’s call, with leaders such as Junet, who are close to the former prime minister, not hesitating to voice their discontent with Raila’s suggestion. Junet also offered himself to persuade Raila to at least soften his stance on the matter.