Uproar Over Nairobi Speaker Forcing Muslim Woman To Shake His Hand [VIDEO]

Speaker Ng'ondi is then seen walking in with open arms, hugging the first female staffer and interacting with her before rushing towards the Muslim woman dressed in a buibui

Marvin Chege Marvin Chege
Apr 16, 2024 - 17:58 Updated: Apr 16, 2024 - 18:02
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Uproar Over Nairobi Speaker Forcing Muslim Woman To Shake His Hand [VIDEO]
Undated video clip of Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Ken Ng'ondi forcing a Muslim woman to shake his hand and hug him during a birthday party. /X.CYPRIAN NYAKUNDI

An undated video surfaced on Tuesday, April 16 showing Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Ken Ng'ondi forcibly shaking a Muslim woman's hand and hugging her during a birthday party.

The video, seen by Viral Tea and which has since sparked outrage on social media, showed a jovial mood in a room full of staff members appearing to celebrate another year around the sun for one of their own.

Speaker Ng'ondi is then seen walking in with open arms, hugging the first female staffer and interacting with her before rushing towards the Muslim woman dressed in a buibui who was seated calmly watching the celebrations unfold.

However, the woman appeared to show resistance, which did not stop the speaker from forcibly reaching for her hand and clutching it with a grip that would prove difficult to break from.

"Greet me today! It is my birthday!" Ng'ondi tells the woman, who is seen smiling shyly much to the cheers of the crowd.

Here is the video:

The woman is then forced by the speaker to rise from her seat and take photos and despite his insistence, the woman is seen concealing her face, perhaps expressing that she did not want her photo taken.

She retreated to her seat as Speaker Ng'ondi tried to offer his hand to her one last time before giving up and physically interacting with the rest of his colleagues as the celebrations continued.

Viral Tea understands that the video clip was taken during a birthday celebration at the Nairobi City County Assembly on November 23, 2022, shortly after the general election.

However, it was first shared by controversial blogger, Cyprian Nyakundi on Tuesday morning, almost two years later, who sought clarification from his Muslim followers regarding this alleged type of harassment.

“Hello, my Muslim brothers and sisters. Why should someone force himself on a devout Muslim lady who is not willing to defy the manners of her faith?” he posed.

Muslim leaders called for the county assembly speaker to be removed from office for what they described as sexual harassment, with the Muslim Lawyers Association calling for Ng'ondi to be prosecuted.

“Such reprehensible behaviour is criminal, unethical, and immoral and not only violates her religious beliefs but also constitutes a grave violation of bodily autonomy and dignity. We therefore urgently demand accountability and immediate commencement of criminal charges by DCI against Hon. Ken Ng'ondi for this egregious act of sexual harassment,” the association said in the statement.

Lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi also condemned the incident, stating on X “This is physical assault, a gross trespass to the person of the lady. I will be very surprised if criminal charges are not preferred."

“The lady is an official in the County Assembly. His action amounts to a sexual harassment offence in law and contravenes provisions of (the) Leadership & Integrity Act.

"He is not fit to be in office & must be forced to resign. County Assembly members are lawmakers & should not allow an uncouth person like him to lead the Assembly. ODPP should order an investigation too for criminal charges,” former Mandera senator Billow Kerrow weighed in.

Neither the speaker nor the County Assembly leadership had yet to speak on the harassment by the time of publishing this article.

The law of Kenya decrees no less than three years of imprisonment or payment of Ksh100,000 or more as a fine for anyone declared a sexual offender. Be it a verbal or physical form of indecent behaviour by a person in authority; the act will be punishable if the alleged perpetrator is proven guilty.

Nairobi County Assembly speaker, Ken Ng'ondi. /CAPITAL GROUP

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