The Court of Appeal is set to deliver its ruling on March 21 regarding whether it will suspend the High Court’s decision that declared the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition as the majority party in the National Assembly. This decision comes amid heightened political tensions and a battle over parliamentary control.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetangula, through his lawyer Elisha Ongoya, has argued that the High Court erred by overturning his ruling on the majority party without a thorough analysis of the presented evidence. Wetangula maintains that post-election coalitions can influence the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) initial declaration of party strength and contends that the Azimio coalition agreement lacks the necessary signatures from United Democratic Movement (UDM) and the Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) officials, raising doubts about its legal standing.
The Speaker further warned that if the High Court’s decision is not stayed, he risks facing contempt of court charges, which could not only result in his imprisonment but also lead to a parliamentary crisis. His legal team insists that the appeal is necessary to prevent legislative paralysis and uphold the integrity of the Speaker’s office.
On the opposing side, lawyer Kibe Mungai, representing the petitioners, insists that the High Court ruling should be upheld. Mungai argues that Wetang’ula’s decision to declare Kenya Kwanza as the majority party was a blatant violation of the law. He asserts that Azimio remains the legitimate majority party and that granting the Speaker’s request for a suspension of the ruling would set a dangerous precedent of judicial impunity. Mungai further accused Wetang’ula of sowing confusion in Parliament and described the appeal as an abuse of the court process.
The political wrangling over the majority status began when the High Court overturned Wetang’ula’s initial ruling, which had declared President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition as the majority party. The court ruled that Azimio, led by Raila Odinga, rightfully held the majority status based on the pre-election coalition agreement. Despite this ruling, Wetang’ula insisted that Kenya Kwanza had a majority with 165 members compared to Azimio’s 154 and instructed an appeal to be filed.
The Speaker’s defiance led to a dramatic walkout by Azimio MPs, who vowed to challenge what they termed as a constitutional crisis. The upcoming ruling by the Court of Appeal will therefore be a significant moment in shaping parliamentary leadership and governance moving forward.
