Kalonzo confirms Azimio PG meeting following court ruling on NA leadership

Following Friday’s High Court verdict, Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka has scheduled a meeting of the Parliamentary Group for Wednesday next week.

The court overturned Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula’s decision to declare the Kenya Kwanza coalition the majority party in the house.

“I spoke to Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta. We want Azimio PG so that we can plan,” Kalonzo said.

The former Vice President, while directing opposition Members of Parliament to stand steadfast, expressed confidence that Kenya Kwanza will not challenge the judgment.

“We hope there will be no stay order,” Kalonzo spoke during a funeral in Kitui. On Friday, a three-judge bench consisting of Justice John Chigiti, Jairus Ngaah, and Lawrence Mugambi declared that Azimio La Umoja is the legitimate majority party in the National Assembly.

In a landmark ruling, the court ruled that National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula acted improperly when he assigned 14 resigned Azimio coalition members to the Kenya Kwanza alliance.

The case was filed in court by Ken Njagi, attorney Lempaa Soyinka, and ten others represented by attorney Kibe Mungai.

Wetang’ula alleged that some Azimio members had formally written to his office to condemn their involvement with the Raila Odinga-led political party.

These 14 MPs represent four parties: the United Democratic Movement (UDM), the Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG), Maendeleo Chap Chap (MCC), and the Pamoja African Alliance (PAA).

However, the bench stated that when he signed an affidavit in court to oppose the case, he failed to present any evidence of post-election agreements between the aforementioned parties and the KK alliance.

Wetang’ula claimed that the parties signed the agreements and deposited them with the political party registrar.

However, the justices reaffirmed that in the absence of evidence, Wetang’ula’s decision cannot be upheld.

“Even Kimani Ichung’wah who said he tabled the agreements in parliament during a debate on the issue of majority and minority has not exhibited any such agreement in court,” said the bench.

Furthermore, the justices ruled that Wetangula had no legal basis to overturn the registrar’s decision on Azimio and KK coalition membership.

According to Registrar of Political Parties data, the Azimio coalition group had 26 political parties as of April 21, 2022, compared to Kenya Kwanza’s 15.