No love in ‘Lovers’ Nest’; let Kenya Kwanza tame sadistic MP Sankok

As we say time and again, you are the company you keep. It follows, therefore, that the incurably fossilised mindset of East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) representative David Sankok is a reflection of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, which nominated him to the regional talk shop.

And, tragically, that at the East African Community ‘capital’ in Arusha, across the border in neighbouring Tanzania, Mr Sankok will be seen to represent President William Ruto and the Kenyan leadership and, by extension, the people of Kenya.

In a civilised society, the likes of Mr Sankok would not only be disowned but swiftly stripped of leadership positions.

It is instructive that the Kenya Kwanza coalition has not censured Mr Sankok or disassociated itself from his cretinous viewpoints. It is not just Mr Sankok’s political formation that stands indicted but Kenyan manhood in general for the simple reason that, other than mild shows of disapproval, it has not erupted in widespread condemnation.

So what’s all the kerfuffle about? Mr Sankok, again, has been trending for all the wrong reasons. Some time last week, he distributed a promotional video for his Osim Country Lodge, in Narok County. The showpiece attraction was what he called the Lovers’ Nest, a rickety wood cabin perched atop an acacia tree: “Here, lovers will spend their night in a natural manner, like monkeys, on top of trees.”

Novelty

That’s not what was offensive. He promoted the novelty that, once the couple is inside the nest, the ladder used to climb up will be removed and there will be no escape for the woman who opts to resist unwelcome sexual advances.

He advanced that girls have a tendency, in Kenyan parlance, to ‘kula fare’ (roughly meaning to stand up a man after receiving money for transport). In this case, he crowed, the woman will be at the mercy of the man who paid for the tryst.

“At the Lovers’ Nest, there’s no change of mind. For the sake of the boy child, who in most cases pays the money for the house, we remove the ladder so that they stay there from evening till morning, so that the man can get the value for his money.”

Off-colour jokes

That demented marketing pitch might be seen as tongue-in-cheek but matters of sexual assault, kidnapping, illegal confinement or holding one in bondage, slavery or servitude provide no room for off-colour jokes.

If it does not want to be tarred with a very stinking brush, the political formation that sponsors Mr Sankok must, without further delay, issue a public apology to all women, make it clear that it does not share his views and ultimately begin the process of removing him from the EALA. Anything less than that will be seen as endorsement of deviant, primitive, misogynistic views and advocacy for repression and sexual battery directed at our women.

We have just seen Romania recall its ambassador to Nairobi, Dragos Tigau, over racist remarks comparing Africans to monkeys at a meeting at the United Nations complex in Nairobi. Mr Sankok’s comments are no less objectionable than those of the Romanian envoy and the same principle must apply.

It must not be forgotten that the MP, who has often misrepresented himself as a medical doctor, is a serial violator. The Lovers’ Nest promo is not just one isolated moment of madness. Back in 2018, the then-nominated Member of the National Assembly in Kenya featured on this very page over some deeply offensive remarks. During debate on a bill intended to ensure compliance with constitutional requirements for gender equity in Parliament, the MP went off on a crude tangent.

From within the hallowed Chambers of Parliament, he suggested that increasing the number of special seats to meet the two-thirds gender rule would open the door for ‘slay queens’ to sleep their way into Parliament. His women colleagues were outraged—and rightly so. Some wondered whether he, as a beneficiary of a special interest slot, had slept his way to the august House.

As if that we not enough, he then proposed a bizarre integrity test, by which any woman who had children from more than one man and of different ethnic groups would be disqualified from nomination to Parliament. He got away with it then; no wonder, he still gets away with it.

Now, what would be the reaction if Mr Sankok was advertising his Lovers’ Nest for child abuse or gay coupling? The outrage would be instantaneous and very loud. Religious groups and other moral cops would be up in arms. But what we hear now is a loud silence.

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