Seats held by MPs supporting rival parties will not be declared vacant – Speaker Justin Muturi

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has stated that seats of Members of Parliament, who have since shifted allegiance to political parties that did not sponsor them to the House, will not be declared vacant.

Muturi’s ruling comes at the height of a call by the leadership of the Jubilee party to have seats held by its members, who have joined the United Democratic Alliance party, declared vacant.

The Speaker based his ruling on conservatory orders issued in the Nakuru High Court on March 18, 2022 by Justice Joel Ngugi.

In his ruling, Justice Ngugi directed the Speakers of the Senate, the National Assembly, and county assemblies not to declare seats held by leaders who have since ditched or resigned from political parties that sponsored them to office.

Justice Ngugi, who was ruling on a petition by Kabazi Ward Representative Peter Kibe Mbae, referred the case to Judiciary head CJ Martha Koome, asking her to constitute a bench to hear the matter conclusively.

“In the view of the urgency of the matter and the public interest in the case, the Deputy Registrar is hereby directed to forward the file to the Chief Justice on a priority basis and to follow up on it, so that it is acted upon with all due dispatch.” Justice Ngugi ruled.

He added: “The matter is hereby certified as one raising a substantial question of law in terms of article 165 (4) of the Constitution and is hereby referred to Chief Justice Martha Koome, to assign an uneven number of judges to hear and determine it.”