Former President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party faction has had the last laugh in the protracted tussle for the deputy minority leader's seat in the National Assembly.
This is after Speaker Moses Wetang'ula finally made changes in the minority leadership that saw nominated MP Sabina Chege replaced by Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje.
"Mark Mwenje is the deputy whip of the Azimio coalition as of today (25 October) and not at any other time. If there are any privileges and trappings of that office, they will fall on him from today and not any other time," Wetang'ula ruled during the afternoon plenary session.
The sweet victory could not have come at a better time, just hours before the former president's birthday, and especially after Chege announced herself as the leader of the Jubilee Party, replacing him in the splinter group.
The Speaker ruled that "there is no impediment at this time to the decision of the minority party to replace its whip. Standing Order 20A(5) requires the Speaker to announce to the House the decision to replace the Whip, in this regard, Mark Mwenje replaces Sabina Chege as the Deputy Whip of the Minority Party".
Ms Chege's sacking has dealt a blow to her faction after a Kiambu High Court dismissed their case seeking to block her removal and ordered them to exhaust the party's resolution mechanism.
Although Speaker Wetang'ula recognised the Jubilee Party as an independent parliamentary group, Chege will no longer enjoy the party trappings that came with the position she previously held.
"The Jubilee Party is hereby recognised as a parliamentary party, but this recognition does not in any way elevate it or affect the status accorded to the majority and minority parties by the Constitution and Standing Orders," he said.
Nevertheless, the speaker has given Ms Chege a breather to act as interim whip for her group, which represents 21 of the 28 MPs, after it petitioned for recognition as a parliamentary group through Nakuru West MP Samuel Arap and deputy secretary general Joshua Kutuny.
The Speaker even referred to a similar incident in the Tenth Parliament under the old Constitution when a deadlock arose over the official leadership of government business.
He recalled how then Speaker Kenneth Marende struggled to decide on the position after President Mwai Kibaki appointed Vice-President Kalonzo Muysoka and Prime Minister Raila Odinga appointed himself.
"The speaker asked the joint government and opposition whips to run the affairs of the house until the president and his prime minister resolved the matter," Wetang'ula said.
But yesterday Mr Wetang'ula, armed with the backing of a new constitution, citing Articles 36, 38 and 108, the Standing Orders Sixth Edition and the Political Parties Act 2022, decided to bite the bullet and issue his ruling after months.
In June, Mr Wetang'ula ruled that Chege should retain her position as deputy minority whip after a court order preventing her removal was granted, sending the Azimio team back to the drawing board.
His communication yesterday marked the end of the wrangling after the opposition threatened to paralyse the business of the House and also pull out of the National Dialogue inter-communal talks.
But despite his decision, he wasted no time in putting the opposition in its place, accusing the leadership of sending a litany of letters using unpalatable language to force his hand.
In particular, Wetang'ula took issue with what he called a "rambling" letter from JP secretary-general Jeremiah Kioni, accusing him and the institution of parliament of frustrating Ms Chege's removal.
He also didn't spare Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi and his deputy Robert Mbui for holding a press conference to smear him and his legal team over the matter, even though he had earlier hired them separately and was waiting for the court papers to be served.
But Mr Wandayi, while commending Speaker Wetang'ula for his decision, said Sabina had illegally held the position for five months and therefore Mr Mwenje should be adequately compensated.
"Our position as a party is that Sabina has been holding this position illegally, Mwenje has been working since May 30, 2023," Mr Wandayi demanded.
His assertions tickled Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah, who disagreed on the spot, saying the decision should take effect from Thursday.
"The decision takes effect from today, there were issues that stopped you from making this decision including embargoes from the courts, the only issue that remains in my mind is why should Mwenje be a deputy minority whip of the minority coalition and yet Jubilee is a parliamentary party," Mr Ichung'wah explained.
He continued, "It can be construed that Mwenje then defected from Jubilee and joined either Wiper Party or ODM and that would then force a by-election.
The Chege faction fell out with Azimio after he decided to work with Kenya Kwanza, accusing them of disloyalty.
Previously, the two factions allied to Uhuru and Chege maintained a grandstanding position, with each side claiming to be the true officials of the party.
Ms Chege's faction of the Jubilee Parliamentary Group (PG) endorsed the decision of its National Executive Committee (NEC) to confirm her as the bonafide Deputy Minority Chief Whip of the National Assembly.
In a statement sent to newsrooms on Wednesday, the group rejected the Kioni-led faction's appointment of Mr Mwenje, describing it as invalid, unprocedural and contrary to the party's constitution.
"The meeting held at Ngong Racecourse on 22 May 2023 where the name of Mark Mwenje was endorsed has been declared null and void by the Jubilee Internal Dispute Resolution Committee and the Political Parties Disputes Resolution Tribunal," the statement read.
For its part, the Kioni faction has called an NEC meeting for Thursday 26, which is also Uhuru's birthday, to be chaired by Uhuru.
"The people we have invited are the genuine NEC members, based on the resolutions of the previous NEC that expelled the Chege-led team. We will also use the meeting to celebrate the party leader's achievements and birthday," Mr Kioni told the media in Nairobi.
"We have deliberated extensively on the said notices and have resolved that members of the NEC should not attend any meeting called by Kioni because he has not only sued the Jubilee Party but also the organs of the party and members of the NEC individually," said the statement signed by party chairman Nelson Dzuya.
