Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Farah Maalim speaks in the House on July 29, 2026. /SCREENGRABThe Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Farah Maalim, on Wednesday warned MPs against disrupting proceedings with loud conversations, telling them to respect the rules and dignity of the House.
Maalim intervened moments after Endebess MP Robert Pukose began tabling statements on behalf of the Leader of the Majority Party, as some lawmakers continued talking loudly.
The disruption appeared to be linked to concerns among some MPs over whether the House had the required quorum to transact business.
Maalim rose and called the House to order, reminding MPs that they were expected to understand and follow the Standing Orders governing parliamentary proceedings.
A member attempted to respond while Maalim was still addressing what he described as a first-term lawmaker on the rules governing proceedings.
“Order! If you take time and study the standing orders and study the rules of the House and try and understand how business is transacted here...order!” he said.
Maalim warned MPs against interjecting while the Speaker or Deputy Speaker was on their feet, saying such conduct undermined the dignity of the House.
“And for your information, and for the information of Members of Parliament, if you don't respect the dignity of the House, and you start interjecting when the Speaker is on his feet, I will take very firm actions and those actions are going to be very bad for you,” he warned.
Addressing concerns over quorum, the Deputy Speaker clarified that determining whether the House has the required number of MPs to transact business is a responsibility of the clerks and the chair.
“Order! I know you are a first-term MP. The problem with having good knowledge and reading a lot is that it stops you from getting embarrassed. If you listen to me, I will give you a lesson on this. You never took time to understand this; you think this is just a House of activism,” he said.
Maalim advised MPs who believed the House lacked quorum to wait until the member speaking had concluded before raising a point of order.
He said the issue could then be formally checked to establish whether the House had the required quorum.
“If members have walked out or there's no quorum, that again is going to establish whether there's quorum or not.”
The Deputy Speaker urged MPs to respect parliamentary procedure even when they were dissatisfied with the manner in which business was being conducted.
“Let us follow the rules, please. If you have any issue to raise, raise it at the appropriate moment,” he said.
The exchange highlighted the strict procedural rules governing debate and proceedings in the National Assembly, with Maalim warning lawmakers that disagreements over House business must be raised through the prescribed formal channels.
