Court Proclaims Azimio As National Assembly Majority, Wetangula’s Position Unconstitutional
The High Court overturned Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula’s decision to declare the Kenya Kwanza coalition as the dominant party in the House.
The three-judge bench, which included Justices John Chigiti, Jairus Ngaah, and Lawrence Mugambi, concluded that the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition is the legitimate majority coalition in the National Assembly.
In a landmark ruling, the court ruled that Wetangula acted arbitrarily when he assigned 14 resigned Azimio coalition members to the Kenya Kwanza alliance.
Wetangula alleged that some Azimio members had formally written to his office to condemn their involvement with the Raila Odinga-led political party.
These 14 MPs represent four parties: the United Democratic Movement (UDM), the Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG), Maendeleo Chap Chap (MCC), and the Pamoja African Alliance (PAA).
The High Court has overturned National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula’s 2022 decision that declared Kenya Kwanza the majority party.
— The Eastleigh Voice (@Eastleighvoice) February 7, 2025
In a ruling, Justices John Chigiti, Jairus Ngaah, and Lawrence Mugambi affirmed that Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance is the rightful… pic.twitter.com/mHfLW5wTDz
However, the bench stated that when he signed an affidavit in court to oppose the case, he failed to present any evidence of post-election agreements between the aforementioned parties and the KK alliance.
Wetangula alleged that the agreements were signed and lodged with the registrar of political parties.
However, the justices reaffirmed that in the absence of evidence, Wetang’ula’s decision cannot be upheld.
“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.
Furthermore, the justices ruled that Wetangula had no legal basis to overturn the registrar’s decision on Azimio and KK coalition membership.
According to Registrar of Political Parties data, the Azimio coalition group had 26 political parties as of April 21, 2022, compared to Kenya Kwanza’s 15.
Finally, the bench stated that Wetangula’s finding regarding the leadership of the National Assembly violated Article 108 of the constitution.
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This section specifies who is the leader of the majority party (the largest party or coalition) and the minority party (the second largest party or coalition) in the National Assembly.
The bench also decided that Wetangula’s dual role was illegitimate and unconstitutional.
“The holding of the speaker as leader of Ford-Kenya and at the same time a key official in KK coalition evokes the appearance of bias and undermines the independence of Parliament,” said Mugambi.
The justices unanimously ruled that Wetangula cannot exercise the tasks of a political leader as long as he is the speaker.
Court Proclaims Azimio As National Assembly Majority, Wetangula’s Position Unconstitutional
