Mandera North MP Bashir Abdullahi has spoken out after a video of him speaking in Parliament went viral and sparked anger among many Kenyans.
The video, which circulated widely online, showed him commenting on the BBC documentary Blood Parliament, which named two police officers and a soldier believed to be behind the killings of protesters outside Parliament on June 25, 2024.
His remarks triggered public outrage, with Kenyans online accusing parliamentarians of attempting to brush off the events of June 25 instead of seeking justice for the bereaved families.
“A very sad day indeed, tragic and shameful. Tragic in the sense that we lost the lives of our fellow Kenyans, shameful in the sense that the democracy of our Parliament was about to be infringed and nevertheless, it has come at this time, a time that we have really moved on,” he said.
“We spoke about that issue in this house, discussed it, sympathised and mourned our fellow Kenyans who passed on during that day,” he said.
“However, it has come at this time again when, as much as we agree that our fellow Kenyans lost their lives, unfortunately, we also moved on to ensure that we reconcile the country as we move on. It happens the world over, people are killed, we sympathise and we move on,” he added.
These words upset many Kenyans online. People felt that leaders were trying to forget about the killings instead of fighting for justice for the victims and their families.
After the backlash, MP Bashir posted a message on his X account on May 1 to explain himself. He said his words had been misunderstood and taken out of context.
“Fellow Kenyans, over the past few days, I have observed with concern the public reaction to a phrase attributed to me during a recent Parliamentary session—‘we sympathise and move on.’ While the phrase has gone viral, it has unfortunately been taken out of context and does not reflect the intent or spirit of my remarks," he noted.
Bashir explained that he was in Parliament on that day when the MPs were condemning what happened on June 25, when Kenyans died during the protests against the Finance Bill.
"Let me set the record straight. I was present in Parliament on that solemn day when we unanimously condemned the tragic events of 25th June 2024, when innocent Kenyan youth lost their lives during the anti-Finance Bill. We mourned as a House and stood with the affected families. At no point did I mean to ignore or downplay the pain of what happened,” he added.
He called for action to be taken against those responsible for the killings. Bashir apologized to anyone his speech may have hurt.
“I demand that those responsible be held accountable. If my words hurt the families or any Kenyan, I offer my deepest and most sincere apology. I say this as a servant of the people.”
The issue has reopened debate about how leaders handle serious events involving police and military violence, and how quickly they urge Kenyans to "move on" without first ensuring justice.
