Weeks after his controversial ruling in the National Assembly that the Kenya Kwanza Coalition is the majority coalition in parliament, the House’s Speaker Moses Wetangula is now opening up on the behind-the-scenes intrigues which were playing out that led to the ruling which resulted in shameful scenes of a melee.
The National Assembly Speaker and Ford Kenya Chairman was speaking while making an appearance on KBC TV and Radio during an interview that was conducted by the station’s presenter Rashid Mwamkondoo.
Wetangula revealed that a section of Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance Coalition Party members had approached him and confessed to him in private. Disclosing them as those members who were in agreement with him but afraid of the party hierarchy, Wetangula told Rashid Mwamkondoo that these members are always forthcoming with him since he has been a member of the coalition for a while.
He claimed that they told him even they knew Kenya Kwanza Coalition was the majority outfit but couldn’t say this publicly.
Wetangula, last month, ruled that Kenya Kwanza has the majority number of MPs in the House.
In his ruling read in the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon, October 6, he said Kenya Kwanza Coalition had marshalled more MPs in the House, with some of the parties that previously belonged to Azimio la Umoja professing support for Kenya Kwanza after the August 9, 2022 General Election.
The speaker said coalitions are not “cast in stone”, and that the membership can change before or after elections.
“Coalitions are not cast in stone and are an evolving arrangement which can occur both prior to and after the elections,” said Wetangula.
According to the speaker, after 2022 post-election agreements were entered into, Kenya Kwanza pushed its membership to 179 MPs against Azimio la Umoja’s 157.
Before that, he observed that Azimio la Umoja had 171 MPs against Kenya Kwanza’s 165 MPs.
After the elections, some 14 MPs, who were members of parties affiliated to Azimio la Umoja, shifted allegiance to Kenya Kwanza, with Wetangula saying the MPs are now members of the President William Ruto-led coalition.
The speaker also stated that the Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu filed responses to his office in regard to membership of the coalitions quite late, hence making it difficult for him to verify validity of the report.
“The Registrar [of Political Parties] submitted documents sought by the Clerk of the National Assembly, including coalition agreements, more than six weeks after the request was made,” said Wetangula.
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