National Assembly Majority Leader Ichung'wah/PARLIAMENT PRESS
Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah has dismissed claims that the High Court ruling, which overturned the Speaker’s decision on the Majority Party, will affect past decisions of the National Assembly.
Ichung’wah, who has served as the Majority Leader, told MPs that once a decision is made by Parliament, it remains a resolution of the House and cannot be undone retroactively.
He also argued that the 14 MPs who defected from Azimio and Jubilee should not be forced to remain in the opposition.
“It is now upon you to make a fresh ruling, look at the facts as they are today, and consider the numbers as they stand,” he said.
“For the 14 MPs in question, what should happen is to establish whether they followed the correct process to leave Azimio.”
Ichung’wah insisted that past decisions of the House remain valid despite the court ruling.
“Decisions of this House are decisions of Parliament, and the court ruling has no bearing on past resolutions of this House,” he said.
“As much as I respect the court’s decision, I strongly disagree with it.”
He further noted that out of the 34 prayers presented by the petitioners, the court only granted one—to annul the Speaker’s ruling.
“What the court did was annul your [Speaker’s] ruling of October, reverting us to the status quo as of August 9, 2022,” he said.
On October 6, 2022, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula ruled that the Kenya Kwanza Alliance was the Majority Coalition.
This decision came after 14 MPs from the Azimio La Umoja Coalition Party defected to the ruling coalition, tipping the balance in Kenya Kwanza’s favour and allowing it to claim majority status.
However, a three-judge bench of the High Court later found that Wetang’ula had violated the Constitution in making this determination.
The court ruled that the Speaker had no justifiable basis for the reassignments and quashed the decision that had declared Kenya Kwanza as the Majority Party.
