Azimio la Umoja of the One Kenya Coalition Party has filed a constitutional violation lawsuit against National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula.
In court records, the Azimio la Umoja coalition accuses Wetangula of failing to dewhip nominated MP Sabina Chege as Azimio's Deputy Chief Whip.
The opposition alliance also accuses Wetangula of recognizing Jubilee as a parliamentary party and, as a result, appointing Sabina Chege as its interim chief whip.
The coalition wants the court to deem Chege's position and Jubille's status as a party unconstitutional and to require the MP to repay the public's money spent on running her supposed office.
Did you read this?
“…Declaration that the purported position of the whip of the Jubilee Party as a Parliamentary Party, be declared unconstitutional and be revoked... that the direction of the Speaker of the National Assembly for Sabina Chege be recognized as Jubilee Party whip, be revoked and that the direction for the Clerk of the National Assembly that facilities for Chege is a whip for Jubilee Party be accorded, be revoked,” reads the court documents.
The petition also asks for a declaration that Sabina Chege repays all public money spent as a whip for the Jubilee Party and an order awarding the Petition's costs to the Petitioner.
According to Azimio, the Speaker's actions violate critical sections of the law, including the right to equality and freedom from discrimination, usurpation of powers and undermining political parties' independence, denial of access to justice, and misappropriation of public funds.
The opposition party's objections come from a previous verdict in which Wetangula refused to dewhip Chege as asked by Minority Whip Opiyo Wandayi multiple times and instead recognized Jubilee Party, which is part of Azimio, an autonomous parliamentary party in violation of the law.
