Jubilee to meet on fate of five senators
Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju addressing the media outside the party headquarters in Pangani, Nairobi on October 2, 2020.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party will meet today to decide on whether to challenge the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) verdict that stopped the party from expelling five nominated senators over disloyalty.
Jubilee secretary-general Raphael Tuju said the party’s National Management Committee (NMC) will meet to deliberate on the decision and agree on whether to appeal, start a fresh process of kicking out the “renegades” from the party or simply let the matter rest. “We have scheduled a meeting of NMC for Monday where we shall discuss the matter and agree on the way forward,” Mr Tuju said.
In its ruling on Wednesday last week, the tribunal faulted Jubilee for what it said was failure to follow its own party regulations and the principles of fair administrative action in expelling the five senators.
The ruling on a case filed by Senator Isaac Mwaura which was delivered on Friday, however, favoured the ruling party.
The tribunal upheld a decision of the ruling party to expel Mr Mwaura on grounds of indiscipline.
The tribunal chaired by Desma Nungo found that the party had followed due process in expelling the senator and the internal mechanisms were exhausted, hence the decision cannot be faulted.
The ruling paves way for the Registrar of Political Parties to remove Mr Mwaura’s name from membership of the party unless the party leader — President Kenyatta — intervenes and pardons him.
Mr Mwaura is, however, likely to move to court to challenge the expulsion and seek to have the execution of the tribunal’s ruling and the party's decision stayed.
The tribunal dismissed Mr Mwaura’s claims that the party had not furnished him with the details of the charge levelled against him.
Rebut claims
But for the five, the tribunal ruled that it was unfair for Jubilee not to give them a chance to effectively rebut the claims against them.
“A declaration is hereby issued that the decision to expel the applicants was unlawful and against the Jubilee Constitution,” the tribunal ruled.
PPDT, however, ruled Jubilee can still initiate a fresh disciplinary process.
Mr Mwaura, who was facing accusations of disloyalty to the party and advocating for the interests of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) associated with Deputy President William Ruto, had filed a separate case from his colleagues.
Mr Tuju had in February said the six had been fingered on “disciplinary violations as per Article 13 of the party’s Constitution”.
In the deliberations in the party’s disciplinary committee, Ms Omanga, Ms Seneta, Ms Waqo and Mr Prengei are accused of skipping the State House Senate Parliamentary Group meeting convened by President Kenyatta in May last year.
The senators had won conservatory orders immediately after the decision of the ruling party pending the hearing and determination of the case.
