Published on February 7, 2025 by Agencies for Kenya Online News
Last Updated on 1 year by Agencies for Kenya Online News
A decision by the Speaker of National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula declaring the Kenya Kwanza coalition the majority party in the House has been quashed.
The three-judge bench sitting at the High Court comprising of Justices John Chigiti, Jairus Ngaah and Lawrence Mugambi ruled that the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance is the bonafide majority alliance in the National Assembly.
In a landmark decision, the court said Wetangula acted unreasonably when he assigned to the Kenya Kwanza alliance the 14 members of the Azimio coalition who had resigned from the outfit.
Wetangula had claimed that several Azimio members had formally written to his office to denounce their association with the Raila Odinga-led political outfit.
These members are 14 MPs drawn from 4 parties, namely the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG), Maendeleo Chap Chap (MCC), and Pamoja African Alliance (PAA).
But the bench said when he signed an affidavit in court to oppose the case, he didn’t provide any evidence of any post-election agreements involving the said parties and the KK coalition.
Wetangula had claimed that the parties signed and deposited with the registrar of political parties the agreements.
But the judges reiterated that in the absence of any proof, the decision by Wetang’ula cannot be allowed to stand.
“Even Kimani Ichung’wah who said he tabled the agreements in parliament during a debate on the issue of majority and minority has not exhibited any such agreement in court,” said the bench.
In addition, the judges said Wetangula had no basis to disregard the registrar’s decision on membership of the Azimio and KK coalitions.
According to documents from the Registrar of Political Parties, the Azimio coalition party consisted of 26 political parties while Kenya Kwanza had 15, as of April 21, 2022.
In closing, the bench said Wetangula’s ruling with respect to the leadership of the National Assembly violated Article 108 of the constitution.
The said section defines who holds the position of the leader of the majority party (the largest party or coalition) and the leader of the minority party (the second largest party or coalition) in the National Assembly.
The bench at the same time ruled that the dual role played by Wetangula is unlawful and unconstitutional.
