Court dismisses petition seeking to bar Speakers Wetangula, Kingi from participating in political activities 

The High Court has struck out a Petition seeking to bar National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula and his Senate counterpart Amason Kingi from participating in alleged political activities.

High Court Judge, Justice David Mburu ruled that the Petition filed by Vocal Africa was premature as the Petitioners had not exhausted all the available legal avenues before moving to Court.

Justice Mburu ruled that the Petitioners had not filed any complaint with the Ethics and Anticorruption Commission (EACC) against the alleged violation of Chapter Six of the Constitution, pursuant to the provisions of the Leadership and Integrity Act.

The parties had raised a preliminary objection against the Petition on grounds of ripeness, arguing that it had been filed prematurely as the said legal remedies had not been exhausted.

The judge found this to be a pure point of law and therefore a proper preliminary objection, as filed by the respondents.

Justice Mburu ruled that the doctrine of exhaustion was applicable to the Petitioners’ alleged violation and that the court was also not satisfied that there was any exception to the doctrine in the present Petition.

He added that the Petitioners had not adduced any evidence to demonstrate that they lacked adequate audience from the respective administrative agencies, on the remedies sought.

Justice Mburu further held that the Petitioners had not demonstrated how the two Speakers had violated provisions of Chapter six of the Constitution or the Conflict of Interest Act or the Leadership and Integrity Act as alleged.

The court thus determined that it was not necessary to determine the application for conservatory orders as sought by the Petitioners against the two Speakers; as the Preliminary objections were found to have merit.

The objections were upheld and the Petition struck out on account of failure to exhaust statutory remedies under the Leadership and Integrity Act.

In court papers filed earlier, the two Speakers had opposed the Petitioners’ application for conservatory orders to bar them from appearing in, or being represented in alleged organized partisan political events.

Speaker Wetang’ula who is also the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), had in his affidavit told the court that the Petitioners were not acting in good faith as required of public interest matters of this nature.

“It is apparent that the Petitioners seeks relief against the respondent (Speaker) as an individual citizen and as a holder of a Constitutional office as Speaker … to the extent that the Petition is directed against the respondent in his personal capacity,” argued Wetang’ula in his affidavit before Court.

He argued that the Petitioners failed to distinguish between acts undertaken by the Speaker in personal capacity and those undertaken in official role, and that the Speaker – being a citizen of the Republic of Kenya – was entitled to the rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution to every citizen.

They added that the petitioners had not demonstrated how public interest would be served or prejudiced by grant of the said conservatory orders sought.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EACC) had also been listed as a respondent in the petition.