N.A Speaker Wetangula Dismisses Court Ruling That Azimio is the Majority
Speaker Moses Wetangula Dismisses Court Ruling That Azimio is the Majority
Moses Wetang’ula, the Speaker of the National Assembly, has rejected the High Court’s ruling regarding his dual roles as Speaker and leader of Ford Kenya. He described the ruling as “ordinary comments” in law that do not carry any binding authority or practical consequences.
On Friday, the High Court ruled that President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition does not hold a parliamentary majority and that Wetang’ula’s simultaneous positions as Speaker and leader of Ford Kenya are unconstitutional.
The ruling has major repercussions for the leadership framework in Parliament, as it calls into question the legitimacy of decisions made while Kenya Kwanza was presumed to hold the majority.
Wetangula provided a swift clarification via his legal advisor, Benson Milimo, stating that the court did not mandate him to give up either office.
“I want to reassure the nation and the Ford Kenya community that there is no reason to panic. Milimo stated in a press release distributed to newsrooms on Friday, “The court’s actions involved making remarks known as ‘obiter dictum’ under the law, which are not binding and do not have any consequential impact.”
He stressed further that the court never ruled at any time that Wetang’ula should leave his role as Speaker of the National Assembly or stop being the Party Leader of Ford Kenya.
He confirmed, however, that Wetang’ula and his party would appeal the High Court’s decision, emphasizing that the ruling does not affect the Speaker’s status.
The decision handed down by Justices John Chigiti, Lawrence Mugambi, and Jairus Ngaah was clear-cut, however.
The judges determined that Wetang’ula was in obvious breach of the Constitution, noting that he ought to have resigned as Party Leader when he took on the role of Speaker.
