Senate Speaker Amason Kingi on Thursday blamed internal fights within Azimio for the delayed recognition of minority leadership changes in the House.
In a 14-page communication to the House, the speaker revealed intrigues within the Raila Odinga-led outfit that were hitherto unknown but were at the heart of the month-long row.
Detailing why he could not immediately communicate the leadership changes as had been demanded by senators from the minority side, Mr Kingi revealed that he had received conflicting letters from Azimio.
He said he received a letter from Azimio from Minority Leader Stewart Madzayo on February 14, 2023, over the changes.
Exposing the deep rift within the Opposition coalition, the former Kilifi governor disclosed that he later received two letters, one from Garissa Senator Abdul Haji and another from Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo.
The letter from Senator Dullo would end at the political parties disputes tribunal, which only on Tuesday dismissed the complaint lodged with it by Ms Dullo for lack of jurisdiction.
Speaker Kingi explained that the letter by Mr Haji – Jubilee Party Organising Secretary – sought to challenge the proposed changes because the Jubilee party had not formally exercised its right to exit Azimio.
In the letter, Mr Haji said Jubilee Party was not aware of the Azimio parliamentary group meeting that de-whipped Ms Dullo as the party never participated in it as it still had confidence in the leadership of Ms Dullo.
Further, the official termed the removal of a Jubilee member by only two constituent parties in the coalition as draconian and unprocedural contending that the position of the Minority Whip belongs to the party.
“I am clear in my mind that at the time the Senate Minority Leader rose on a point of order to demand an immediate communication from the Speaker on what he claimed to be a simple and straightforward matter, he was not aware of the foregoing correspondence which the office of the Speaker was seized of,” said Mr Kingi.
Although admitting that Azimio followed the due process as stipulated in the Senate Standing Orders, the same Standing Orders neither provide for what the speaker should do nor give an indication of any timelines within which he should act on any communication.
“Similarly, there can be no doubt that in giving due consideration to the communication received, the Speaker, cannot be oblivious of any correspondence pertaining to the matter that is brought to his attention,” he said.
He argued that despite recognised parliamentary political parties in the Senate being Kenya Kwanza Coalition as the Majority party and the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Coalition as the Minority party, he could not turn a blind eye to contestations that met the proposed changes.
Nevertheless, he explained that he cannot entertain and find valid the correspondence of a coalition and at the same time accept a contrary position on the same matter from constituent entities or individuals of the same coalition.
He, therefore, ruled that the letter sent to his office by Senator Madzayo met the requirements of the Standing Order No. 23 of the Senate.
Consequently, it meant that Ms Dullo had been validly removed as the Senate Minority Whip with Narok Senator Ledama Olekina replacing her.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna subsequently assumes the Deputy Minority Whip position formerly held by Senator Ole Kina.
“However, I direct, and this is to the Minority Leader, that the office that Dullo occupied contains her personal belongings. I don’t expect you to break the door to get in but wait until her return to remove her belongings and it is only after that the office shall be available to be occupied,” he said.
Mr Kingi said that his failure to communicate the changes on Wednesday was because he had to peruse the documents tabled by two Azimio senators against the documents by the Senate legal team to confirm their authenticity.
He also said that when tribunals sit, they are exercising judicial authorities derived from the people and therefore a Senate cannot ignore them.
“Do we ignore their sittings? The answer is no. Ignoring them means I will be disobeying the authorities of the people,” he said.
