The opposition coalition has threatened to impeach National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula over alleged impartiality in his ruling, which contradicted a High Court decision declaring the Azimio coalition as the majority in Parliament.
Minority Leader Junet Mohammed criticized Wetangula’s handling of the matter, accusing him of inconsistencies regarding the status of 14 MPs who defected from Azimio after signing post-election agreements with Kenya Kwanza.
“When he made his first ruling, which was overturned by the court, he claimed the 14 members were part of Kenya Kwanza. Now, he says they are in political limbo—neither in Azimio nor Kenya Kwanza. This is a deliberate manipulation of numbers to ensure Kenya Kwanza remains the majority,” Junet said.
The Suna East MP also questioned why the Jubilee Party was now being considered part of Azimio, despite Wetang’ula’s previous ruling stating that the party had defected to Kenya Kwanza.
“We have always maintained that Jubilee is still part of Azimio, yet today he says the party is in Azimio. This ruling is full of contradictions and will be overturned in court, just like the previous one. Parliament is not immune to constitutional interpretation by the courts—it is not a court of appeal,” he added.
”Suppression
The opposition also took issue with Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss for writing to the Registrar of Political Parties to seek details on post-election agreements, questioning her motives.
“It’s going to be messy and noisy, and there will be casualties, I can promise you. The way Parliament is being handled is alarming. While we see broad-based governance in the Executive, Parliament is becoming one-sided,” Junet warned.
Minority Whip Millie Odhiambo reiterated that political agreements must be guided by the law and accused the Speaker of deliberately suppressing Azimio’s numbers.
“The 14 members who are supposedly in a political vacuum have done so to deny Azimio its rightful majority. Despite shifting political alliances, legal frameworks must be respected,” she stated.
Minority Deputy Party Leader Robert Mbui also condemned Wetang’ula’s conduct, accusing him of bias and suppressing opposition voices during debates.
“We have confirmed that the Speaker is not impartial. Throughout the debate, we noticed he was silencing us and blocking some of us from contributing. This is unacceptable and amounts to poor parliamentary practice,” Mbui said.
Contested ruling
Wetangula upheld the Kenya Kwanza Alliance as the majority coalition in the National Assembly in a fresh declaration following the High Court decision nullifying his initial declaration.
In his ruling on the implications of the court decision on House proceedings, the Speaker cited post-election agreements filed with the Registrar of Political Parties as a key factor in determining the majority status.
He referenced coalition agreements from the Registrar, which indicated that 14 MPs from five political parties had exited Azimio La Umoja, thereby denying the opposition coalition the majority status it sought.
“Arising from the foregoing, the Kenya Kwanza Coalition is the Majority Party, and the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party is the Minority Party in the House,” Wetangula ruled.
A letter from the Registrar of Political Parties confirmed the formal exit from Azimio by the People’s Liberation Party, Maendeleo Chap Chap Party, Devolution Empowerment Party, United Democratic Movement, and the Pamoja African Alliance.
