The Siaya County Assembly suspended East Asembo Member of County Assembly (MCA) Gordon Onguru over alleged disparaging and offensive remarks directed at President William Ruto and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga.

Following the unanimous passing of a motion, Onguru, who was elected on a United Democratic Movement (UDM) ticket, will serve a 30-day suspension.

The assembly cited “conduct unbecoming of a member” and distinct violations of the Constitution, the Leadership and Integrity Act (2012), and House Standing Orders.

Onguru, a staunch ally of Siaya Governor James Orengo, sat quietly in the chambers as his colleagues sealed his immediate political fate.

Utterances labeled “Sexually Offensive” and “Demeaning to Women”

Moving the censure motion, Assembly Majority Whip Booker Bonyo told the house that Onguru made the offensive and sexually suggestive remarks during a recent public gathering in Oyugis town, Homa Bay County.

“The said utterances allegedly contained sexually offensive, derogatory, and demeaning statements directed at both the President and the Governor of Homa Bay County, contrary to the constitutional values of leadership, integrity, human dignity, mutual respect, and decorum expected of a state officer,” Bonyo argued.

The Majority Whip emphasized that the remarks portrayed blatant disrespect toward women in leadership and women in general, reducing complex matters of public governance to offensive references touching on gender and sexuality.

Bonyo noted that such language directly undermines the constitutional principles of equality and freedom from discrimination under Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution.

Is Onguru being sacrificed alone?

While a section of the house roundly condemned the East Asembo lawmaker’s remarks as unfortunate, the debate sparked friction over the severity and selectivity of the punishment.

Some MCAs broken ranks to describe the 30-day suspension as overly harsh. They questioned why the assembly was quick to “fry” Onguru alone, pointing out that a senior Siaya County Executive official had allegedly been captured on record making similar remarks at the same function but faced no disciplinary action.

Despite the brief pushback, the house ultimately unified behind the resolution. Under the terms of his 30-day disciplinary exile, Onguru: cannot participate in any plenary sittings or official proceedings of the county assembly, secondly he is barred from attending or voting in all house committee assignments and finally he will forfeits access to all standard privileges and facilities accorded to members of the county assembly, except as explicitly permitted under standing orders.

Speaker of the County Assembly George Okode, who chaired the heated session, officially referred the matter to the Committee on Powers and Privileges.

The committee has been tasked with launching a full investigation into Onguru’s conduct and statements to determine whether further statutory breaches occurred under the Leadership and Integrity Act.