NAIROBI, Kenya –The Court of Appeal will rule on March 21 on whether to suspend the High Court’s decision declaring the Azimio coalition the majority party in the National Assembly.
Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula, through his lawyer Elisha Ongoya, is challenging the High Court’s ruling, arguing that it failed to properly assess the evidence before overturning his earlier declaration that Kenya Kwanza holds the majority.
Wetang’ula insists that post-election coalitions can alter the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) initial declaration and further questions the validity of the Azimio coalition agreement.
He argues that the agreement lacks the signatures of United Democratic Movement (UDM) and Maendeleo Democratic Party (MDG) officials, casting doubt on Azimio’s claim to the majority.
The Speaker has also warned that if the High Court’s decision is not put on hold, he could face contempt of court charges, a situation he says could lead to his imprisonment and disrupt parliamentary proceedings.
On the other side, lawyer Kibe Mungai, representing the petitioners, has urged the Court of Appeal to uphold the High Court’s ruling, arguing that Wetang’ula’s move to declare Kenya Kwanza the majority was unlawful.
Mungai accused the Speaker of deliberately causing confusion in Parliament and described his appeal as an abuse of the judicial process.
The legal battle stems from a ruling by the High Court that overturned Wetang’ula’s decision to recognize Kenya Kwanza as the majority party.
The court instead declared Azimio as the rightful majority, a decision that Wetang’ula ignored by reaffirming Kenya Kwanza’s majority status, citing a numerical advantage of 165 members to Azimio’s 154.
Following the Speaker’s ruling, Azimio MPs walked out of Parliament in protest, vowing to challenge the decision through legal and political means.
