National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula is set to address the House Today (Wednesday) over the ongoing dispute regarding the Majority and Minority sides, following a dramatic showdown in Parliament.
On Tuesday, opposition MPs aligned with Azimio la Umoja crossed over and occupied seats reserved for the Majority side, citing a recent High Court ruling that declared Azimio as the rightful Majority coalition.
The ruling, which overturned Wetang’ula’s October 2022 decision that recognized Kenya Kwanza as the Majority with 179 MPs over Azimio’s 157, has sparked turmoil in both the National Assembly and Senate.
The session quickly turned chaotic as MPs from both sides clashed over the ruling’s implications. Speaker Wetang’ula faced mounting pressure, with some legislators demanding his resignation, accusing him of bias.
Minority Leader Junet Mohammed, who sat on the Majority benches, insisted that the ruling must be obeyed unless appealed.
“A court ruling has only two options—obey it or appeal it. There is no third way,” he stated, hinting at a possible power shift.
However, Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah countered that the ruling merely nullified Wetang’ula’s 2022 decision and did not explicitly determine the Majority side.
“The effect of this ruling is that we revert to the status quo as of August 9, 2022,” Ichung’wah argued.
Meanwhile, Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro asserted that Parliament, as an independent body, cannot be dictated to by the courts, a sentiment echoed by Speaker Wetang’ula.
“Neither the court nor any other organization can make decisions for this House,” Wetang’ula declared, maintaining that Parliament’s autonomy must be respected.
The controversy stems from a three-judge bench ruling by Justices John Chigiti, Lawrence Mugambi, and Jairus Ngaah, which found that Wetang’ula violated the Constitution by assigning 14 MPs from other parties to Kenya Kwanza without justification.
