Speaker Wetang’ula Fights Back High Court Ruling With ‘No Status Change’ Verdict
On Friday, February 8, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula responded to the latest High Court verdict by announcing that he will not retire as Speaker of the August House and party leader of Ford-Kenya.
The High Court verdict earlier in the day determined that President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition was not the majority party in the National Assembly.
The court also held that Wetang’ula’s dual function as Speaker and party leader of Ford Kenya was illegal.
“The dual role is unlawful and unconstitutional. Once he became Speaker of the National Assembly, he ceased to be the leader of Ford Kenya,” noted the three-judge bench composed of Justices John Chigiti, Lawrence Mugambi, and Jairus Ngaah.
Court: KK Not A Majority!
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) February 7, 2025
Court rules K.K is not the majority alliance in Parliament
Ruling quashes a decision made by Speaker Wetangula
Judges: Azimio is the majority in the National Assembly#CitizenFridayNight @lillian_muli pic.twitter.com/TOfW8cwir6
Wetang’ula responded to the court’s decision via his legal advisor, Benson Milimo, claiming that he would not resign from his high position in the National Assembly or his party.
“There is absolutely no change of status. Dr Moses Masika Wetang’ula remains the party leader of Ford Kenya as well as the Speaker of the National Assembly,” Milimo noted.
Wetang’ula also dismissed the court finding as “ordinary,” stating that its decision had no bearing on the current circumstances at hand.
“I want to assure the nation and the Ford Kenya fraternity that there is no cause for alarm. What the court did was to make comments, which ordinarily is called per incuriam in law,” he added.
“Comments that are not binding and have no consequential effect. The court at no point ruled that the Speaker should therefore cease holding the Office of the Speaker, nor did it rule that the Speaker should cease holding the title of Ford Kenya Party leader.”
Milimo also claimed that they would submit an appeal challenging the verdict, which puts Wetang’ula in a difficult position when it comes to completing his legislative and political duties.
The most recent court decision stemmed from a disagreement about which coalition would have the majority after the 2022 federal elections.
On October 6, 2022, National Assembly Speaker Wetang’ula announced the Kenya Kwanza Coalition to be the majority party.
Members of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition challenged the decision, claiming that they had more members and should be recognized as the majority.
Wetang’ula claimed in his ruling that, after accounting for post-election agreements, Kenya Kwanza had 179 members and the Azimio alliance had 157.
However, 12 Kenyans filed a lawsuit in court, claiming that the Azimio Coalition had the majority with 171 MPs and the Kenya Kwanza Coalition had 156 legislators.
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They filed a petition disputing the Speaker’s declaration, claiming that it breached the Constitution and the Standing Orders of the National Assembly.
Azimio v Kenya Kwanza
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) February 7, 2025
Martha Karua: If the KK Alliance, and in particular Speaker Moses Wetangula, are believers in the rule of law he should choose whether to be the Speaker or the leader of Ford Kenya. He can’t have both. #NTVWeekendEdition @MichelleNgele_ pic.twitter.com/YKQOZUmMft
A three-judge court agreed, stating that Wetang’ula lacked sufficient evidence to make the decision.
The court determined that the Speaker had no reasonable reason for reassigning 14 members from various parties to Kenya Kwanza, tipping the scales in favor of the coalition.
It remains to be seen how Parliament will function in light of the new verdict.
Speaker Wetang’ula Fights Back High Court Ruling With ‘No Status Change’ Verdict
