For more than two years, Mosop Constituency in Nandi County has had no voice in Parliament.
Its elected Member of Parliament, Abraham Kirwa, has been absent —reportedly abroad and indisposed —without participating in debates, votes, or constituency engagements.
Now, a curious voter has taken the unprecedented step of suing the Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetang’ula, to declare Mr Kirwa’s seat vacant, accusing him of abandoning his constitutional duty to represent his people.
Mr Timothy Tororey, a resident and registered voter in Mosop, filed a petition at the Milimani High Court’s Constitutional and Human Rights Division, demanding action over what he calls a grave democratic injustice.
“The inaction or omission by the Speaker to declare the Mosop Constituency seat vacant, despite the manifest and continuing absence of its member, amounts to a constitutional failure,” Mr Tororey states in court documents.
“It has reduced the people of Mosop to political orphans — unrepresented, unheard, and unseen in the national forum where their interests ought to be articulated”.
"Our MP vanished, yet the Speaker refuses to declare his seat vacant,” he adds in the case that highlights systemic gaps in enforcing MP accountability.
Mosop MP Abraham Kirwa, during a fundraiser in aid of Chororget Anglican Church of Kenya in Keiyo South, Elgeyo Marakwet County, on March 05, 2023. Kirwa and other legislators at the function have threatened to petition the President to form a tribunal to investigate Supreme Court Judges who allowed LGBTQ to form an association.
Photo credit: File | Nation
Mr Kirwa’s prolonged absence means Mosop has missed critical legislative debates and decisions, including budget allocations, and oversight functions—core duties MPs are constitutionally mandated to perform.
“Parliamentary decisions affecting national revenue allocation, oversight of the Executive, and passage of legislation have occurred without Mosop’s voice or vote. The people have been rendered invisible in the national legislative process,” says the petitioner.
The Constituents say they have been left without recourse as development projects stall and their concerns go unaddressed in the House.
The petition is pegged on Article 103(1)(b)-(c) of Kenya’s Constitution, which states that an MP’s seat becomes vacant if they miss eight consecutive sittings without the Speaker’s written permission.
According to the petitioner, this constitutional safeguard was intended to protect representation and to ensure that every constituency remains effectively present in Parliament through its elected representative.
“It was never designed to permit indefinite absenteeism under the guise of prolonged permission or silence from the Speaker,” says Mr Tororey, arguing that MP Kirwa’s two-year absence far exceeds this threshold and renders his continued occupation of office unlawful.
"The Speaker’s inaction violates the Constitution," MP Tororey asserts, observing that permission for absence cannot be a blank cheque for indefinite disappearance.
National Assembly speaker Moses Wetangula.
Photo credit: File | NMG
The lawsuit also accuses Speaker Moses Wetang’ula of abdicating his constitutional duty under Article 103(5) to declare vacancies when MPs fail to meet attendance requirements.
“The Speaker’s omission has effectively denied the people of Mosop their constitutional right to representation and participation in the legislative process,” argues the petitioner.
“As a result, Mosop Constituency has suffered democratic exclusion”. Mr Tororey’s petition seeks several orders from the court, including a declaration that MP Kirwa’s absence violates the Constitution and an order compelling the Speaker to declare Mosop’s seat vacant.
He is also seeking a directive for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to conduct a by-election in the constituency.
Both the Speaker and MP Kirwa are yet to respond to the suit in court. However, Standing Orders 260 require the Clerk of the National Assembly to monitor attendance and notify the Speaker when MPs miss sittings.
The High Court is expected to hear the case urgently, given its constitutional significance, with the first mention scheduled for December 1, 2025, to fix hearing directions.
If successful, Mosop could see a by-election early next year.
