National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula found himself on the receiving end of public fury during a tense address in Western Kenya on Sunday. The seasoned politician, once considered a regional kingpin, was heckled, shouted down, and ultimately forced to cut short his speech after locals rejected his attempts to speak.
The incident happened in Bungoma County, a region that has long been considered Wetang’ula’s stronghold. But this time, the reception was far from warm. As he rose to speak, chants of “Hatutaki ukora!” and “Ruto must go!” echoed through the crowd. Some youth even started singing opposition slogans, drowning out Wetang’ula’s voice as he struggled to calm the growing unrest.
Witnesses say the crowd was largely made up of frustrated youth, many of whom blamed Wetang’ula for what they perceive as betrayal of the Luhya community and silence over growing economic hardships. His close ties to the Kenya Kwanza administration, especially at a time of nationwide protests and economic frustrations, seem to have made him a target of Gen Z’s rising dissent.
“This man comes here pretending to care, but he’s part of the system causing our pain,” shouted one visibly angry attendee.
Despite efforts by local leaders to restore order, Wetang’ula was eventually escorted off the stage, ending the visit on a sour note. The video of the embarrassing moment has since gone viral, with many online users praising the crowd for “holding leaders accountable.”
With political temperatures rising ahead of planned nationwide demonstrations, the message from Western Kenya was loud and clear: Even the once untouchable are no longer immune from public backlash.
By Kenyans