MPs scoff at court ruling on Azimio majority status, say it has no effect

While appearing on Citizen TV's Daybreak show on Monday, Ugenya Member of Parliament David Ochieng opined that the ruling is impractical since political factions have metamorphosed and Parliament should be mandated to iron out the standoff.

"I don't want this to be an issue that depends on what the judges say. This should be left to Parliament to decide because that is how Parliament works," Ochieng stated.

"This decision, how is it possible to implement it now?"

Echoing his sentiments Laikipia Woman Representative Jane Kagiri noted that many parties have left the Raila Odinga-led Azimio la Umoja coalition following the outcome of the 2022 General Election, adding that Kenya Kwanza will stage a defense against the ruling.

"The ruling has been overtaken by events because many of these parties have left and I remember most of them raised issues of coercion for them to have remained under Azimio at the time," she noted.

On his part, Eldas MP Adan Keynan held that the decision is a political sabotage to the ruling party, adding that the decision to declare Kenya Kwanza majority status was founded on the realignment of political allegiances before the election of Speaker Moses Wetangula and hence remains accurate and undisputed.

"That judgment attempts to micromanage Parliament, it attempts to deal with political issues that ideally should be left to politicians. This ruling has no effect in law," he said.

A three-judge bench on Friday ruled that President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza is not the majority in the National Assembly and cannot claim seniority status.

Justices John Chigiti, Lawrence Mugambi, and Jairus Ngaah of the High Court also ruled on Friday that Speaker Wetangula's dual role as both Speaker and leader of Ford Kenya is unconstitutional.

They held that Wetangula should have stepped down as Party Leader upon assuming the Speakership.

“The dual role is unlawful and unconstitutional. Once he became Speaker of the National Assembly, he ceased to be the leader of Ford Kenya party,” the court ruled.

The ruling stemmed from a decision made by Wetangula on October 6, 2022, when 14 members from various parties were reassigned to Kenya Kwanza, tipping the balance in favour of the coalition and enabling it to claim majority status. 

However, the court found that the Speaker had no justifiable basis for the reassignments and quashed the decision that had declared Kenya Kwanza as the majority party.

In a swift rejoinder, Wetangula argued that at no point did the court order him to vacate his position as Speaker or cease being the Party Leader of Ford Kenya party.

He termed the ruling as mere "ordinary comments" in law that are non-binding and have no practical effect.