Whistling MPs bring president’s state of the nation address to a halt

Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta was silenced by MPs whose whistling brought his annual speech to parliament to a halt. Mr Kenyatta cut short his address just after he started when the loud whistling began. Seven MPs, who had vowed to disrupt proceedings to protest at the government’s failure to deal with corruption, were thrown out of the chamber. One was dragged out by parliamentary orderlies, kicking and screaming, during the speech beamed on television across the nation.

The president should not address the nation. He should first of all sort out the messes before he comes to address the nation.

Opposition MP John Mbadi

Since coming to power in April 2013, Mr Kenyatta has been plagued by allegations of mismanagement and corruption. The interruption was the first of its kind since early 2008, when parliament was disrupted by shouting and heckling after a disputed presidential election in December 2007. “Criticism without alternatives is reckless political sport,” the president said when calm returned to the chamber after half-an-hour.

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