Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has evoked reactions among netizens in a recent Swahili video that has since gone viral.
Owino was speaking in Parliament on November, 2.
He was giving his sentiments on a motion that seeks to create a Kiswahili council.
Owino was dismissing claims by his counterpart MP Robert Pukose who had accused him of only speaking ‘sheng’.
“Leo hii nimejawa na bashasha mpekwempekwe chakari ja kunguni manake tunatukuza Kiswahili lakini nimeona wabunge wengi hapa hawaelewi Kiswahili,” Owino said.
“I am full of happiness like bedbugs because we are embracing Kiswahili but I have seen most MPs here don't understand Kiswahili.”
He urged his fellow leaders to go back to school and study Kiswahili.
Kamkunji MP Yusuf Hassan challenged the government to cooperate with other national and regional bodies concerned with improving Kiswahili.
“Kiswahili is the native language for communities in the Coastal region and also a large number of Kenyans are speakers of the language,” he said.
Article 7 of the Constitution states that Kiswahili and English are co-official languages.
Kiswahili is also recognized as the national language.
Although other members of the East African Community such as Tanzania and Uganda have made tremendous progress in the area, Kenya has been dragging.
Kenya has been relying on Tanzania’s Bakita in the standardisation of the ‘new’ Kiswahili lexicon.
