Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya and Kiminini Member of Parliament Kakai Bisau clashed openly
A moment of mourning in Trans Nzoia descended into a microphone dispute — and it says something troubling about Kenya’s political culture
By Job Mwavuwa
The funeral of Burudi Nabwera, a respected Kenyan politician and diplomat, should have been a moment of quiet dignity and collective mourning. Instead, it became a public spectacle when Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya and Kiminini Member of Parliament Kakai Bisau clashed openly over control of the microphone during Saturday’s ceremony.
Natembeya’s address was interrupted repeatedly as attendees argued over speaking rights. Tensions escalated when the governor faced pushback while commenting on national political matters, prompting him to rebuke what he described as deliberate disrespect towards a democratically elected leader.
Whatever the provocation, the incident was an embarrassment — not merely to those involved, but to everyone present who had come to honour the dead.
Funerals are not political platforms. They are sacred occasions for families to grieve, for communities to come together and for the life of the deceased to be remembered with the dignity it deserves. Nabwera served Kenya in both politics and diplomacy. He merited better than to have his send-off reduced to a contest over who holds the microphone.
The deeper concern is what this episode reveals about political culture in Trans Nzoia and, frankly, across Kenya. When leaders cannot set aside rivalry even in the presence of a coffin, it signals a troubling absence of restraint, maturity and basic human decency.
Kenyans are watching. And they are taking note.
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