Bring It On

Bring It On

By MAXIMILLA WAFULA & PATRICK KIMANZI 

The County Diary News

NAIROBI —Senator Gloria Orwoba has come out swinging in a powerful public statement, exposing what she calls a calculated effort to silence her in the Senate after rejecting sexual advances from Clerk of the Senate Jeremiah Nyegenye. The nominated senator, known for her bold activism, says her troubles began over two years ago when she raised the alarm on sexual harassment, only to be met with sabotage, suspension, and now a defamation ruling against her.

She alleges that refusal to “play ball” with senior parliamentary figures led to her legislative work being systematically frustrated. Her bills stalled, travel requests blocked, and her visibility in parliamentary business diminished. Orwoba says she went on record in Parliament, naming the Clerk and demanding accountability. What followed, she says, was retaliation, not justice.

Twice, motions were brought to suspend her from Parliament. The first was dropped when it became clear she would be present and could defend herself. The second was timed while she was out of the country attending the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. The motion was passed in her absence, effectively silencing her before she could respond.

Orwoba says that instead of investigating her claims, Parliament made her the accused. She was charged with “disrespecting the House” for suggesting sexual favours were being traded for legislative benefits  the very abuse she was trying to report.

Later, in an attempt to reconcile, she says she was approached and asked to apologise to fellow senators in exchange for a reduction in suspension. She did, but refused to read a pre-drafted apology that, according to her legal team, was crafted to benefit the Clerk and undermine her case in court. Despite her refusal, that statement was used against her in a defamation case where she has now been ordered to pay KSh10 million a ruling she is currently appealing.

Throughout her statement, Orwoba drew attention to what she describes as a deep culture of harassment and abuse in Parliament. She challenged the media and the public to investigate travel approvals, legislative priorities, and office privileges  all of which, she alleges, are weaponized through a system of coercion and sexual exploitation.

“How can I fight for women in Kericho’s tea plantations if I can’t fight for myself in Parliament?” she asked. “Sex for work is not limited to the farms or factories. It is alive and well within our legislative institutions.”

The cost of speaking up has been high. Orwoba says she has gone months without a salary, faces multiple court cases, and receives threats to her life. Even her own party, she claims, has distanced itself from her outspokenness. Still, she remains defiant.

“They can suspend me. They can bankrupt me. They can try to break me. But I will not be quiet,” she said. “Wangari Maathai didn’t do it because it was easy. If I die, I want you to know what I was fighting for.”

Orwoba ended with a call to Kenyan women everywhere  from Parliament to the villages to speak out and stand up.

“Nobody is coming to save us. If you speak out, they may come for you. But I will fight. I will speak. And if they thought this would bring me down, they were wrong. Bring it on.”