Court to hear Wetang’ula removal case in July

The High Court has set July 10, 2025, as the date for hearing a petition seeking the removal of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula over his declaration that Kenya Kwanza is the majority party, a decision made in defiance of a High Court judgment.

Justices Jairus Ngaah, Lawrence Mugambi, and John Chigiti dismissed preliminary objections by Wetang’ula and the National Assembly, who wanted the court to first hear their opposition to the fresh petition.

Instead, the judges directed that the objections be addressed together with the main case filed by a group led by petitioner Kenneth Njiru.

Wetang’ula, through his lawyer Judith Guserwa, argued that there was no order served on him requiring any action or barring him from making pronouncements.

He claimed the suit was aimed at interfering with his work as Speaker.

“There is no dispositive order that was made by this Honourable Court capable of being violated by the third and fourth respondents (National Assembly and Wetang’ula), or enforceable by this Honourable Court in the exercise of its contempt jurisdiction,” stated Guserwa.

The Speaker maintained that there was no court order in force at the time of his decision that could be the basis of contempt proceedings.

“There is no order of the Court that required the third and fourth respondents to do or refrain from doing anything capable of being enforced through contempt proceedings,” she added.

The National Assembly, represented by lawyer Sandra Nganyi, submitted that the High Court lacked jurisdiction since a related appeal was still active at the Court of Appeal.

This case adds a new dimension to the long-running fight over control of the National Assembly.

The dispute over who holds majority status flared up again after the Court of Appeal refused to stop contempt proceedings linked to the Speaker’s contested decision.

Petitioners want the court to declare Wetang’ula unfit to remain Speaker. They accuse him of defying an earlier High Court decision by insisting that Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party is still the minority party.

Lawyer Kibe Mungai, representing the petitioners, told the court that the Speaker had continued to act in favour of the ruling coalition, despite a judgment that found it improper for him to simultaneously lead Ford Kenya and serve as Speaker.

“Bearing in mind the finding of this Honourable Court that the fourth respondent cannot simultaneously hold the position of Speaker of the National Assembly on the one hand, and the position of leader of the Ford-Kenya party and member of the Kenya Kwanza Coalition Leaders Party Summit and its parliamentary group on the other, the ruling delivered on February 12, 2025, is unlawful,” Mungai submitted.

He urged the court to void all proceedings in the House that took place after the February ruling.

“A declaration be issued to declare that the fourth respondent - Hon. Moses Masika Wetangula - cannot continue to serve as Speaker of the National Assembly unless and until he resigns as the political leader of Ford-Kenya and as leader in the Kenya Kwanza Coalition - the 19th and the respondents herein,” added Mungai.

The three-judge bench had previously ruled that Wetang’ula’s dual role as Speaker and party leader created a conflict.

Following that ruling, he was expected to relinquish one of the roles. Keeping both would place him in a position where he could influence parliamentary business while also being politically active.

If Wetang’ula chooses to relinquish his grip on Ford Kenya, he risks being pushed out of the party’s leadership, a move that could ease efforts to merge it with UDA.

In their ruling, Justices Ngaah, Chigiti, and Mugambi also dismissed the claim that 14 Azimio MPs had switched sides to Kenya Kwanza, noting that no proof of a coalition agreement had been tabled in court.

“It is worth noting that the speaker, having being sued on his private and official capacity, swore an affidavit in opposition of the case.

However, he never deposited any evidence of a post-election coalition agreement as alleged by the speaker.

None of the respondents, including Kimani Ichung’wa, has exhibited any such agreement,” ruled the judges.

The court emphasized that the August 9, 2022, general election had already determined the composition of majority and minority parties in Parliament.