Kenya Kwanza is an amorphous party with no address, court told

Kenya Kwanza National Assembly Speaker candidate Moses Wetang'ula (right) and Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei on September 7, 2022. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] The ruling Kenya Kwanza Alliance is a briefcase party with no physical or postal address, the High Court was told on Monday. During the mention of a case challenging National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula's declaration that Kenya Kwanza is the majority party, lawyer Kibe Mungai told justices Jairus Ngaah, John Chigiti and Lawrence Mugambi that he could neither trace its offices nor find a postal address associated with the party. The lawyer said he was forced to amend the case to include individual parties, as the coalition was an amorphous entity. Even with the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), and Amani National Congress (ANC) being named as parties in the case, they never appeared. The lawyer who was representing Lempaa Suyianka, Kenneth Njagi, Meshack Suba, Teddy Muturi, Amos Wanjala, Stephen Kihonge, Sophie Dola, Winnie Thuo, Victor Ng'ang'a, Simon Lkoma, Caroline Mogaka and Francis Kenya asked the court to allow him to serve Kenya Kwanza through a newspaper advert. Wetang'ula urged the court to strike out the case, arguing that the dispute should have been handled by the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal (PPDT) first before moving to the High Court. Wetang'ula also argued that he could not be sued in person over his duties in Parliament. At the heart of the case is whether Members of Parliament (MPs) are free to defect or shift allegiance from one coalition to another soon after being elected. The State's charm offensive to woo opposition lawmakers to amass majority strength might eventually be a poisoned chalice if the court agrees with the 12 petitioners that MPs cannot defect after elections. In the case, the petitioners argued that the current arrangement in Parliament is illegal and not a reflection of the 2022 General Election. Lawyer Mungai argues that Azimio should be the majority party while Kenya Kwanza the minority. While taking a stab at the coalition agreements between President William Ruto and MPs elected on independent tickets and those from small parties, Kibe argued that the Constitution does not envisage an authoritarian rule, where the Head of State has control of Parliament. He argued that Speaker Wetang'ula's ruling that Kenya Kwanza is the majority in the August House has created a constitutional crisis as the president's party has taken up the House leadership despite having garnered fewer legislators than Azimio. According to the petitioners, Azimio had 171 lawmakers compared to Kenya Kwanza's 165 MPs. Meanwhile, they claim that from the political deal brokered between UDM, MDG, MCCO and PAA, 14 MPs crossed from Azimio to Kenya Kwanza. They asserted that Wetang'ula has no power to determine who is the majority and minority party in parliament. Instead, the petitioners argue the numbers garnered during the election seal the fate of parties and cannot be altered before the House. "The immediate consequence of Speaker Wetang'ula's ruling is that the National Government of the Republic of Kenya has not been established in accordance with the Constitution and the results of the General Election held on August 9, 2022," Mungai argued. The other concern is whether Wetang'ula ought to have contested for the Speaker's position since he has not relinquished his position as the Ford Kenya party leader. He also remains one of the Kenya Kwanza principals. jmuthoni@standardmedia.co.ke

Kenya Kwanza is an amorphous party with no address, court told

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