Speaker Wetangula Rejects Calls to Step Down Following Court Ruling » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 11 – National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula has rejected calls to relinquish his position to Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei, following a court ruling that questioned his impartiality as a neutral arbiter.

The High Court declared Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance coalition as the Majority Party in the National Assembly and ruled that Wetangula should have resigned as Ford Kenya party leader upon assuming office as National Assembly Speaker.

On the floor of the House, Minority Whip Millie Odhiambo urged Speaker Wetangula to step down, citing last Friday’s ruling by a three-judge bench that overturned his decision declaring Kenya Kwanza Alliance as the majority coalition in Parliament.

However, Wetangula dismissed the calls, arguing that there was no substantive motion before the House to warrant his resignation. He also maintained that the ruling did not cast any aspersions on his conduct.

“I have read the judgment with a fine-tooth comb, and nowhere does it cast aspersions on the Speaker. Yours truly, as your Speaker, does not engage in debate—do not go down that route,” Wetangula stated.

He further emphasized that the National Assembly, and by extension Parliament, is an independent arm of government and that no external entity has the authority to dictate its conduct.

“It will ultimately be yours truly who gives the ruling. Neither the court nor any other organization can make decisions on behalf of this House. We sit as a quasi-judicial body,” he remarked.

In its ruling, the three-judge bench consisting of Justices John Chigiti, Lawrence Mugambi, and Jairus Ngaah contended that Speaker Moses Wetangula should have followed the law when he declared Kenya Kwanza the Majority Party.

It argued that Wetangula had violated the constitution in issuing the ruling on  October 6 2022 on the floor of the house which was deemed ‘Solomonic’.

He had ruled that Kenya Kwanza has 179 members in the House against Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party’s 157.

However, the ruling coalition emerged as the majority following a post-coalition agreement as 14 members from the opposition coalition and independent candidates shifted to Azimio.

“By assigning Kenya Kwanza the 14 members of the parties without any reason and declaring Kenya Kwanza as the majority leader, it follows that the Speaker violated the Constitution,” the court ruled.

In the judgment, the bench emphasized that the Speaker is supposed to act as a neutral arbiter.

The case, filed in 2023 by 12 registered voters, challenged Wetangula’s continued leadership of Ford Kenya despite his election as Speaker.

The petitioners argued that his dual role is unconstitutional, given that the Speaker is required to be a neutral arbiter.

The petitioners contended that as Speaker, Wetangula is an ex-officio member of the Kenya Kwanza coalition’s parliamentary group, making his political impartiality questionable. The court agreed, ruling that holding both positions simultaneously is unlawful.

“The duo role is unlawful and unconstitutional,” the three-judge bench consisting of Justices John Chigiti, Lawrence Mugambi, and Jairus Ngaah noted.

Wetangula has faced mounting pressure to step down as Ford Kenya leader, with critics arguing that his political affiliations compromise his ability to preside over parliamentary affairs fairly.

Following the recent court ruling, there have been various interpretations regarding the composition of the majority and minority sides in the National Assembly.

Pundits have argued that the judgement provides clarity on the matter, while others believe it has left room for further deliberation.

“The judgement did not declare who is the majority and who is the minority, its not the courts to declare that, its the speaker to do that, you should know that,”Wetangula argued.