Kenyans on Tuesday night remained in the dark on what transpired in Parliament after the cameras were turned off at about 6.30 pm when chaos escalated.
According to reports, Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi did not have an easy time coordinating the special sitting that sought to amend 2017 electoral laws, as CORD MPs vowed to disrupt everything in the August House.
The moments were characterised by a lot of insults, catcalls and jeers. The Opposition lawmakers stalled the whole proceeding and engaged in irrelevant debates to buy time.
At 6.30pm, the MPs had not made much progress leading to Mr Muturi extending the time for the special sitting.
This irked CORD lawmakers who started questioning whether the Speaker was in right standing to extend the special sitting after the designated time.
“I am clear in my mind that a special sitting is not exempt from provisions of the standing order 30 regarding the hours of sitting. But in that standing order, there is discretion given to the speaker. For the convenience of the House, the speaker may direct earlier or later interruption of the House,” the Speaker said.
He added: “None of you has directed me on that particular aspect. There is need therefore to recover the lost time and I, therefore, direct that the House may continue to sit for a further 55 minutes after which the House shall stand adjourned. How you utilise that time is upon you.”
The Opposition used delay tactics and even started discussing the Budget Policy Statement as tabled by the Budget and Appropriations Committee, something that caused the Jubilee lawmakers to become restless.
However, Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo noted: "The budget is the most important issue for us and we must also tell the nation what we feel."
At 6.45pm the legislators demanded they be allowed to leave and head for the Christmas holiday highlighting that it was illegal for the session to continue.
“Time for this House cannot be cooked. Mr Speaker allow us to go home for Christmas, please,” Midiwo stated.
When it proved impossible to continue with the sitting, the Speaker adjourned the session to January 24, 2017.
It was at this point that CORD MPs broke into song and dance celebrating their victory.
"A People united can never be defeated," they sang.
ODM Chairman John Mbadi noted: "The Speaker has done the right thing but it was too late.We thank Kenyans for standing with us."
The Opposition is opposed to an amendment that gives the electoral body powers to revert to a manual system if technology deployed during the 2017 election fails.
It is also opposed to another change seeking to increase the number of voters per polling station from 500 to 700.
