Citizen TV anchor Yvonne Okwara on Thursday, September 10 tore into Kenyans, including leaders and citizens, over the furore that followed comments deemed insulting towards founding First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta.
The remarks by Emurua Dikirr MP Johanna Ng'eno and his Kapseret counterpart Oscar Sudi drew widespread condemnation from political leaders and a section of Kenyans.
Observing the visceral reaction including planned demonstrations around the country, Okwara noted how Kenyan mothers faced injustices every day but no one seemed to bat an eye-lid.
She went on to list several instances from 2020 in which mothers in Kenya faced terrible experiences.
"How I wish we were this outraged when a disabled mother who brews illicit liquor to feed her children was beaten and further humiliated with brew poured on her head by a village chief in Uasin Gishu.
"Where was this noise and planned demonstrations when we learnt that a mother was forced to boil stones for her children?" she posed.
Okwara further referenced the controversial Kariobangi evictions and the clobbering of Mlango Kubwa MCA Patricia Mutheu at the Nairobi County Assembly.
"Did we hear the widespread condemnation when mothers were forced to sleep in the cold during a pandemic in the state-sanctioned Kariobangi evictions halted by the courts?" she posed.
She reiterated that it was time to put all Kenyan mothers, girls and women on the same pedestal and desist from double-standards.
Ng'eno, who triggered the uproar with a fiery speech in Trans Mara, has since been charged with hate speech and offensive conduct.
Sudi, who came out to defend Ng'eno, refused to apologize for his comments.
While both leaders are allied to Deputy President William Ruto, leaders from both sides of the divide including the DP have condemned the language used.
The situation also fuelled debate on the state of freedom of speech and expression in Kenya.
Watch Okwara's statement below:
Yvonne’s Take: Everyone deserves respect; from the first lady of the country to the first ladies in our lives #NewsGang@YvonneOkwara pic.twitter.com/YkM8HxAJ8m
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) September 10, 2020
