Homa Bay Town Member of Parliament Peter Kaluma has expressed his satisfaction following a ruling by the High Court that declared Kenya Kwanza is not the majority coalition in the National Assembly.

In a statement shared via his X account on Saturday, February 8, 2025, the lawmaker criticized those who had previously equated the term ‘minority party’ with being in opposition, suggesting that the recent court decision had proven them wrong.

“Those who think ‘minority party’ means ‘opposition,’ where is the opposition now that the court has declared @TheODMparty the ‘majority party’ in Parliament!” Kaluma stated.

Court ruling

The ruling, delivered on Friday, February 7, 2025, by Justices John Chigiti, Jairus Ngaah, and Lawrence Mugambi, overturned a previous decision made by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, which had favoured Kenya Kwanza as the majority coalition.

According to the High Court ruling, the majority party in the National Assembly was determined by the sovereign will of Kenyan voters during the August 9, 2022, General Elections.

“It is hereby declared that the question as to which party or coalition party is the majority of the National Assembly of the 13th Parliament was determined by the sovereign will of the Kenyan voters during the August 9, 2022, general elections,” read part of the judgment.

The court also found that Speaker Wetang’ula violated the Constitution when he assigned 14 members from various parties to Kenya Kwanza on October 6, 2022, in a move that helped the coalition claim majority status.

“It is therefore declared that the Honourable Speaker determined, as contained in his communication to the chair made on October 6, 2022, that the majority and minority in the National Assembly violated the Constitution,” the ruling added.

At the time, Wetang’ula had declared that Kenya Kwanza had 179 members in the House compared to Azimio La Umoja’s 157. However, official documents from the Registrar of Political Parties as of April 21, 2021, showed that the Azimio coalition consisted of 26 political parties, while Kenya Kwanza had 15.

The court criticized the Speaker’s decision, stating that he had no legal grounds to reassign members to Kenya Kwanza, thus declaring it the majority party.

“The Speaker can’t fault the Registrar of Political Parties. She could not provide what she did not have. The Speaker ought to have exhibited the agreements that were alleged to have been presented during the debate. Without the post-election coalition agreements, he had no basis in this regard,” the court noted.

In its verdict, the bench emphasized that the Speaker of the National Assembly should remain neutral, independent, and free from political influence. The court further ruled that Wetang’ula ceased to be the party leader of Ford Kenya upon assuming the Speaker’s role, adding that his continued association with the party compromised his impartiality in parliamentary affairs.

Meanwhile, the court declined to grant conservatory orders sought by Kenya Kwanza lawyers, who had requested a 45-day stay of the judgment. The judges maintained that Wetang’ula should have adhered to the law from the outset.

The case was filed in 2023 by 12 individuals identifying themselves as registered voters. They argued that 171 National Assembly members were elected under parties forming the Azimio coalition, while Kenya Kwanza had 165 members. Based on these figures, they contended that Azimio rightfully held the majority status in the National Assembly following the 2022 elections.