Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda and MPs Elisha Odhiambo (Gem) and Felix 'Jalang'o' Odiwuor (Lang'ata) have gotten a reprieve after the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal dismissed the decision against their expulsion from the ODM Party.
Ojienda, Odhiambo and Jalang’o were expelled alongside MPs Caroli Omondi (Suba South) and Gideon Ochanda (Bondo) who equally won the case.
The decision by the Tribunal on Wednesday was however not unanimous. One Member dissented.
The Majority (Hon Desma Nungo and Hon Stephen Musau) held that there were aspects of an infringement of the ODM legislators' right to a fair hearing.
They particularly faulted the fact that the Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Professor Ben Sihanya.
"It is the Tribunal's view that by virtue of being a Lecturer in a Public University, Professor Sihanya was barred from taking a substantive seat or position in a Political Party in this case the ODM," the Tribunal ruled.
However, the dissenting member was of the view that the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.
He said the ODM Party having referred the matter to the Registrar on a charge that the Senator and MPs were deemed to have resigned, only the Registrar could determine this issue.
His conclusion was that the PPDT taking up the matter amounted to an encroachment of the statutory mandate of a Statutory Body namely the Registrar of Political Parties
In its final finding, the Tribunal held that the Complaints by the members were merited.
"We found that the Disciplinary Proceedings were unprocedural and restrained the Registrar from removing the Complainants, Tom Ojienda, Odhiambo, Ochanda, Jalang'o and Caroli from the Orange Democratic Movement Party," it was ruled.
The Tribunal also held that the Party is free to conduct fresh disciplinary proceedings against the Complainants if it so wishes as long as the Party follows due Process.
As a result, the Tribunal opted not to make any findings in respect of the legality or otherwise of the actual charges facing the party members.
The decision offered a temporary reprieve against the MPs as the Party through its Advocate Samuel Makori immediately applied for proceedings and judgement of the Tribunal possibly with the intention of either appealing the decision or re-instituting charges against him.
