Court: Wetang'ula can't be Speaker, Ford-K boss

National Assembly's Speaker Moses Wetangula at a Parliamentary Sitting on January 16th, 2025 [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The Court of Appeal on Friday left National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula exposed by declining to suspend the High Court’s ruling that he cannot hold the position while simultaneously serving as Ford Kenya party leader.

At the same time, Justices Daniel Musinga, Mumbi Ngugi, and Francis Tuiyott rejected the National Assembly’s plea to order Azimio la Umoja, One Kenya Coalition Party, to remain in the minority.

The three justices noted that, although the House was somewhat chaotic, there was no evidence that the High Court judgment in favor of the opposition party had halted its operations.

“There is no sufficient evidence before us that the business of the National Assembly is likely to grind to a halt unless the orders sought are granted. Even after the contested Speaker’s ruling of 12th February 2025, the National Assembly has continued to discharge its duties, albeit with some acrimony,” the bench headed by Justice Musinga ruled.

On Wetangula’s dual seats, they observed that the High Court did not order him to relinquish the position. According to the, there was no order to suspend.

On Wetangula’s dual roles, the judges noted that the High Court did not order him to relinquish either position. They emphasized that there was no directive to suspend his roles.

“There was no dispositive order made by the High Court on this matter. Therefore, we cannot rule on it in an application for stay of proceedings or execution. We can only stay a positive order issued by the trial court,” the judges observed.

In the case, Raila Odinga’s party opposed suspending the High Court’s orders, reaffirming its position as the majority in the National Assembly.

Raila’s team made it clear they would not yield to President William Ruto’s party, refusing to accept minority status without a fight.

Azimio supported arguments to dismiss the application by Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wa, and the National Assembly to suspend the High Court judgment, which recognized the party as the majority.

Suna East MP and Azimio Secretary General Junet Mohammed filed a supporting affidavit, urging the court to dismiss the application.

He said Wetang’ula had denied the party its rightful position before the August house.

“Contrary to the applicant’s assertions, I wish to state that the applicant has been operating illegally and the 14th and 15th respondents subverted the Constitution and the will of the people by denying them their rightful Majority political party and all such benefits and committees associated with the said position,” argued Junet.

Azimio lawyers Paul Mwangi and Arnold Oginga argued that the application filed under urgency was meant to sanitize Wetang’ula’s February 12, 2025, ruling, turning the tide back in favour of Kenya Kwanza.