Mbita Member of Parliament Millie Odhiambo has asked the National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula to step down and allow Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei to lead the House after a High Court ruling last week.
The ruling by a three-judge bench decided that Wetang’ula’s decision declaring Kenya Kwanza the majority in the National Assembly was null and void. Already, the House has been somewhat divided by the ruling, with commotion in the National Assembly.
Since the members entered the House at 2:30pm there was a tense mood in the House, and as Owen Baya, the Deputy Majority Leader in the National Assembly, stood to lay papers, MPs allied to the opposition started to oppose with heckling and shouting.
While riding on a standing order, Odhiambo asked the Speaker to resign from the proceeding as the court ruling found that the speaker could harbour a conflict of interest as he remains the Party Leader of Ford Kenya and Speaker of the National Assembly.
Millie, who termed herself as the Majority Whip, then stood on a point of order and asked Wetangula to resign which has led the House to debate. She went on to submit the Azimio Coalition’s Majority Leaders and Deputy Majority Leaders as Junet Mohamed and Robbert Mbui respectively.
However, in his rejoinder, Wetang’ula said there is no special motion before the floor of the House seeking his removal.
He further added that the decision by the court did not demand his removal. “I have read that judgment with a toothcomb and there nowhere it requires me to resign,” he asserted.
Wetang’ula then further asserted that the ruling does not cast aspersions on the speaker conducting such proceedings.
“Neither the court nor any other authority outside this Chamber can make a declaration that affects the conduct of business here except yourselves by voting and the speaker giving you rulings," he said.
According to Wetangula, a motion was brought to the 10th Parliament by MP Patrick Musimba to discuss the conduct and possible vacation of office of then-Speaker Justin Muturi. Muturi preceded the motion, and MPs went on to vote and Muturi survived.
Wetangula insisted that he would listen to any motion brought by any MP and rule fairly. "I will listen to you and I assure you I will give you a fair finding. It is like going to court and telling a judge because the lawyer appearing before him was his classmate he will not be fair. That has no standing in law or fact," he asserted.
Junet Mohamed who has been the Minority Leader has taken his seat as the Majority Leader and has said he will remain there until the legal process is exhausted.
"Today afternoon I just switched seats and I took over the role of the Majority Leader," he told the House.
