Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula has filed an application challenging the contempt of court proceedings against him regarding the majority party in Parliament.
On February 12, 2025, Wetangula ruled that Kenya Kwanza is the majority in Parliament despite a High Court ruling that stripped the ruling party of its status.
Following the speaker’s ruling, a group of activists, led by Kenneth Njagi filed an application before the Milimani law court seeking to find Wetangula guilty of contempt of court and to jail him for allegedly disregarding the court’s verdict on the majority party leadership in the House.
In a court application, Wetangula revealed that he was never served with any court order before the contempt proceedings were initiated, asserting that no decree was extracted or served to justify the proceedings.
The Speaker further claimed that no court order required him to take or refrain from any action that could be enforced through contempt proceedings.
Additionally, the National Assembly, through its lawyer, Sandra Nganyi, argued that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine the application.
They contend that Wetangula enjoys parliamentary immunity from contempt proceedings and that such proceedings cannot be issued against him in his individual capacity for actions carried out in the exercise of his official functions as outlined under Article 117 of the Constitution.
In the petition, the speaker also invited the court to review or reconsider its judgment delivered on February 7, 2025, which rendered the court functus officio.
Justice Jairus Ngaa, Lawrence Mugambi, and John Chigiti have directed the parties to appear on July 17 for the highlighting of submissions.
