A three judge bench in the High Court on Friday made a ruling that the Kenya Kwanza alliance led by President William Ruto was not the majority party in the national assembly. The ruling futher found that the National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula violated the constitution in giving that controversial decision.
The decision is based on the decision of the parliament speaker on October 6, 2022, where 14 members from various parties joined Kenya first, while showing equality in supporting the union and enabling it to claim majority status.
However, the court found that the speaker did not have any basis to be assigned another job and annulled the decision that had first declared Kenya Kwanza as the main party.
According to the decision of the national assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, Kenya Kwanza had 179 members of Parliament in the national assembly, while the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Party had 157 members of parliament.
Delivering the verdict unanimously, Justices John Chigiti, Lawrence Mugambi and Jairus Ngaah criticized the decision of the speaker, stressing the need for impartiality and strict adherence to constitutional principles.They emphasized that the speaker has an important role in maintaining public confidence in the parliamentary process.
The session further emphasized that the speaker must be a neutral arbiter, free from political influence. they also warned that the public’s trust in the parliament is highly dependent on the actions of the speaker, and any violation of the constitution can destroy this trust.
In addition, the court found that Wetang’ula’s role as speaker and leader of the Ford Kenya party was unconstitutional.
This decision has a big impact on the leadership structure in the parliament, not only does it raise questions about the legality of decisions made under the majority status of Kenya Kwanza but it also emphasizes the role of the courts in upholding the rule of law.
The issue of whether this decision will bring about changes in the parliament is still unclear.
