‘Don’t be silly!’ MP Jayne Kihara threatens to beat up Esther Passaris in tense TV debate

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‘Don’t be silly!’ MP Jayne Kihara threatens to beat up Esther Passaris in tense TV debate

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The fiery debate on TV47 escalated as Passaris referenced the 2007 post-election violence, telling Kihara, "When I think of Naivasha, and I think of 2007, Jane, you were right at the centre of all that mess."

Passaris went on to cite the principle that "he who comes to equity must come with clean hands", directly accusing Kihara of engaging in the same incitement she currently criticises and claiming she was among those investigated.

A visibly angry Kihara forcefully rejected the accusations, interjecting repeatedly and demanding, "What did I do? Esther, what did I do? What was I investigated for?"

As Passaris pressed on, she insisted that "the truth hurts", claiming Kihara was demonstrating how violent she could be.

"It's the same incitement that you're doing now!" Passaris replied.

At her wit's end, a furious Kihara snapped back, telling Passaris: "Don't be silly!"

The Naivasha lawmaker also questioned whether Passaris even knew what transpired in Naivasha at the time.

Overcome with emotion, Kihara turned to Passaris and said, "You're being stupid now!" before angrily flinging a newspaper on the table.

As they both went at each other, Kihara declared: "I could hit her! I could hit her! She has no idea about what happened in Naivasha!"

Passaris replied: "You see how violent she can be?"

The heated exchange prompted the show's moderator Fred Indimuli to intervene and temporarily mute their microphones to regain control of the discussion.

Kihara is then seen attempting to yank off her microphone, saying: "I can't do it with Esther..."

Following the disputed 2007 Kenyan general election, Naivasha emerged as one of the major hotspots for retaliatory post-election violence.

During subsequent investigations conducted by the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV), commonly known as the Waki Commission, as well as by the International Criminal Court (ICC), allegations surfaced that major political figures were organising and financing retaliatory attacks in the region.

While Kihara was named in political and civil society discourse surrounding the events in Naivasha, she was never formally charged by the ICC.

She later publicly stated that she refused offers to serve as a prosecution witness and instead acted as a defence witness during the ICC proceedings involving Kenyan leaders.

Reporting originally appeared via Citizen Digital. Read the full source for additional context.