I regret my actions, Nairobi Speaker apologises to Muslim community

Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Ken Ng'ondi has publicly apologised for his actions, which were captured on video.

A video resurfaced on Tuesday of the speaker insisting on a handshake and a hug from an MCA during an office celebration of his birthday in November 2022.

He is seen walking about, acknowledging his colleagues and then pompously approaching and impelling her to stand and shake his hand.

On Thursday, the Speaker met various Muslim organisations in an effort to resolve the matter.

"My actions have brought a lot of unrest within my family and I regret my actions. I thank the Muslim community for accepting to meet me so that I can make my apology," Ng'ondi said.

The Speaker noted that he realized his actions were a disgrace to the Muslim community and asked for forgiveness from the MCA and her family.

"To my sister, kindly find a heart to forgive for my actions, I came to realize that it is bad manners to the Muslim faithful," Ng'ondi added.

Before addressing the media, the Speaker who was in the company of Majority Leader Peter Imwatok and other MCAs, met the Muslim leaders.

In response, National Muslim Leaders Forum chairman Abdi Abdullahi said the apology was welcomed by the Muslim community, however, warned that it shouldn't be repeated.

"The apology given to the speaker has been accepted by the Muslim leadership who attended the meeting and have forgiven the speaker," he said.

Speaking on behalf of the Muslim community, Abdullahi stated that the video has not only created heated debate online but also caused uproar from people across the globe.

"We want this to be a lesson for others. As the Muslim community, we want our daughters and our women to be respected, they have a dress code, and it must be respected from school to the place of work," he said.

"That is not reservation to Muslim women but to every woman in society. Women should be respected. We should not see a repeat of this incident that took place in this country," Abdullahi added.

The chairman emphasised that the dignity of women, not only Muslims, should be respected.

He added that "there are some issues that must be addressed, the issue of the dignity of Muslim women is very close to the community globally,".

In addition, Supkem Chairman Hassan Ole-Naado warned that the matter of the controversial video should not be dragged as a political issue.

"We don't want this matter to take a political dimension, let the people take their political issues elsewhere, not using this unfortunate incident," he added.

On Wednesday, Majority Leader Peter Imwatok said the matter has been taken up by the Powers and Privileges Committee, which will carry out their investigations and take action against those found culpable.

He claimed that the video was being used by extortionists.

"It is unfortunate that a ring of extortionists has decided to use this clip as a way of extorting the Speaker. However, the matter has been taken up by the Powers and Privileges Committee, who will carry out their investigations and take action against those found culpable," Imwatok noted.