New twist as tribunal quashes UDA’s expulsion of Senator Orwoba

The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) nullified the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party’s decision to expel nominated Senator Gloria Magoma Orwoba, declaring the disciplinary process against her unlawful and unprocedural.

Delivering judgment on August 20, a three-member bench chaired by Desma Nungo found that UDA’s Disciplinary Committee violated Orwoba’s constitutional right to a fair hearing when it purported to expel her on May 16 and 19.

This is a new twist into the saga as a new senator has been sworn in to succeed Orwoba. Consolata Wakwabubi was sworn in after her nomination by the ruling UDA party.

The tribunal held that the complaint lodged against the senator by UDA members Festus Omwamba and Henry Muriithi was unsigned, undated, and unsupported by a valid affidavit.

“The complaint before the DC may very well have been spun from thin air,” the bench said, ruling that the process lacked probative value.

Further, the tribunal faulted the party for failing to serve Orwoba with the complaint or accord her adequate notice to prepare her defence.

Instead, the tribunal said, she only learned of developments through the media and was ultimately excluded from the proceedings after serving the committee with a High Court order suspending the matter.

“What transpired on May 16, 2025 was a clinical ouster in blatant disregard of the law, a political process masquerading as a procedural moment,” the bench ruled.

The tribunal said that UDA’s actions amounted to a gross violation of Articles 47 and 50 of the Constitution and the Fair Administrative Action Act.

Consequently, the tribunal quashed the UDA disciplinary committee’s decisions of May 16 and 19.

It declared the proceedings unlawful, unprocedural, and biased and barred the office of the Registrar of Political Parties from effecting the expulsion.

The tribunal further Issued a permanent injunction restraining UDA from removing Orwoba from its membership register on the basis of the nullified proceedings.

“A declaration be and is hereby issued that the letter by the 1st Respondent Party Secretariat to the Speaker of the Senate dated 19th May 2025 purporting to expunge the Complainant’s name from the UDA Party list is ultra vires, unconstitutional,null and void ab initio,” ruled the tribunal.

Orwoba, through her lawyer Moses Mabeya, argued that she was never served with the complaint that formed the basis of her expulsion and was denied sufficient notice to prepare her defence.

She further told the tribunal that despite serving UDA’s DC with a court order halting the proceedings, the party went ahead to expel her.

“The complainant decries the rushed communication and implementation of the impugned decisions resulting in her ouster from the Senate. She also points out irregularity in that process, pointing out that the decision relied upon by the 4th Respondent is that delivered on the 19th of May, 2025, and is different from that relied upon by the 1st Respondent’s NEC of 16th of May, 2025,” said Mabeya.

Orwoba revealed that she still considers herself to be the UDA-nominated senator, in light of the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal’s ruling that dismissed her expulsion.

‘’Well, unless anything changes, I am going to the Senate, and I am the nominated senator; I know that she might also believe that she is, that’s good for her,’’ the embattled Nominated Senator said.

Orwoba says that, although people are urging her to play down her expulsion and move on, she is determined to fight to eliminate impunity and injustice in the country.

‘’It’s not about the party, you have to fight to make sure that we stop the impunity, injustice and unconstitutional behaviours that we are seeing left, right and centre,’’ Orwoba explained.

Orwoba maintained that if UDA wants her removed, then they should use the right channels.