A three-judge bench has nullified National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula’s decision that declared Kenya Kwanza the majority party in Parliament. In their ruling on Friday, the court affirmed that Azimio la Umoja is the rightful majority party.
Judges John Chigiti, Lawrence Mugambi, and Jairus Ngaah found that Wetangula violated the Constitution in determining parliamentary leadership. Their decision overturns his October 6, 2022, ruling.
According to the court, Wetangula wrongly assigned 14 MPs from various parties to Kenya Kwanza, a move that gave the coalition an artificial majority in the House. The judges ruled that he had no legal basis for these reassignments.
Wetangula had declared that Kenya Kwanza held 179 MPs compared to Azimio’s 157. However, official records from the Registrar of Political Parties showed that as of April 21, 2022, Azimio comprised 26 parties, while Kenya Kwanza had 15.
The judges asserted that the Speaker cannot override the Registrar’s records and noted that Wetangula failed to provide any post-election coalition agreements to justify his decision.
Furthermore, the court criticized Wetangula for acting in violation of the Constitution, emphasizing that a Speaker must remain impartial and uphold public trust.
In a significant finding, the judges ruled that Wetangula’s position as Ford Kenya party leader conflicts with his role as Speaker. They stated that he automatically ceased to be Ford Kenya’s leader upon assuming the Speaker’s office.
The court declined to suspend its ruling, stating that any attempt to challenge it must be done through a formal appeal. The case was filed by Ken Njagi, Advocate Lempaa Suyinka, and ten others, with Advocate Kibe Mungai representing the petitioners.
