Court Declares Azimio As The Majority party In Parliament, Overturns Wetangula’s Decision

Court says Speaker Wetang’ula violated the Constitution by declaring Kenya Kwanza the majority in the National Assembly in 2022.

The High Court has overturned National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula’s decision that declared Kenya Kwanza the majority party.

In a ruling on Friday, Justices John Chigiti, Jairus Ngaah, and Lawrence Mugambi affirmed that Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance is the rightful majority in the National Assembly.

Wetang’ula’s declaration in 2022 followed a stand-off over which coalition had most members in the National Assembly.

The Speaker then said that according to documents from the Registrar of Political Parties, the Azimio coalition party comprised of 26 political parties while Kenya Kwanza had 15, as at April 21, 2022.

While Azimio then had 171 MPs while Kenya Kwanza had 165, Wetang’ula said that several Azimio members had formally written to his office denouncing their association with the coalition.

In their ruling on Friday, the High Court judges faulted Wetang’ula for assigning 14 members of the Azimio coalition to Kenya Kwanza without providing evidence of any post-election agreements between the affected parties and Kenya Kwanza.

“The Speaker cannot fault the Registrar of Political Parties. She could not provide what she did not have. The Speaker ought to have presented the agreements that were allegedly submitted during the debate. Without the post-election coalition agreements, he had no basis for his decision,” the court ruled.

The 14 MPs in question were drawn from four parties – United Democratic Movement (UDM), Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG), Maendeleo Chap Chap (MCC), and Pamoja African Alliance (PAA).

No legal grounds

Wetang’ula had insisted that these members had formally denounced their association with Azimio, but the court found no legal grounds for their reassignment.

Justice Mugambi emphasised that the Speaker had no basis to disregard the Registrar of Political Parties’ records, which showed that as of April 21, 2022, Azimio comprised 26 political parties, while Kenya Kwanza had only 15.

“In the absence of any proof, the decision by Wetang’ula cannot be allowed to stand,” the court ruled.

The ruling stems from Speaker Wetang’ula’s October 6, 2022 decision, which tipped the parliamentary majority in favour of Kenya Kwanza.

According to his determination, Kenya Kwanza had 179 members, while Azimio had 157. However, official documents contradicted this claim.

Delivering the unanimous judgment, the judges criticised Wetang’ula’s actions, stressing the importance of impartiality in his role.

Violated the Constitution

“By assigning Kenya Kwanza the 14 members from other parties without justification and declaring it the majority party, the Speaker violated the Constitution,” the court ruled.

The bench also ruled that Wetang’ula’s dual role as Speaker and leader of Ford Kenya was unconstitutional, raising concerns about bias in the parliamentary process.

“The holding of the Speaker as leader of Ford Kenya and at the same time a key official in Kenya Kwanza evokes the appearance of bias and undermines the independence of Parliament,” Justice Mugambi said.

The judges said the Speaker’s role must remain neutral to maintain public confidence in Parliament.

They warned that any constitutional violations by the Speaker could erode trust in the legislative process.

This ruling has major implications for Parliament’s leadership, questioning the legitimacy of decisions made under Kenya Kwanza’s assumed majority.

Whether the judgment will lead to a realignment in the National Assembly remains to be seen.