Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta has once again secured victory in court in the fight for control of the Jubilee Party after judges blocked a faction that is led by the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) member Kanini Kega from regaining leadership of the political outfit.
The Court of Appeal in Nairobi has for the second time declined a request by Mr Kega, Joshua Kutuny (a member of Kenya Copyright Board of directors and former Cherangany MP) and the party's national disciplinary committee chairperson Wanjiku Nduati to suspend implementation of a High Court judgment that upheld the leadership of the officials aligned to Mr Kenyatta.
The appeals court had in October last year dismissed a similar request by the Kega-led faction in their bid to block the Kenyatta-led group from resuming their positions.
The officials allied to Mr Kenyatta are Jeremiah Kioni (Secretary-general), David Murathe (National Vice Chairperson) and Kagwe Gichohi (Treasurer). They had been expelled from the party by the National Executive Committee in February 2023 and were replaced by Mr Kega, Adan Keynan (Eldas MP) and Rachael Nyamai (Kitui South MP), respectively. In the changes, Mr Kenyatta also lost his Party Leader position to nominated MP Sabina Chege.
From left: "Rebel" Jubilee MPsNominated MP Sabina Chege, Kanini Kega (East African Legislative Assembly), Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo and Adan Keynan (Eldas).
Photo credit: Nation Media Group
However, he did not sue to challenge the changes like his allies Kioni, Murathe and Kagwe.
On September 30, 2024 High Court judge Janet Mulwa overturned expulsion of the three Kenyatta allies after finding that it was in blatant breach of the law and the party constitution, since some of the persons involved in passing the expulsion resolution were not members of the party's National Executive Committee (NEC). The court said their expulsion was therefore a nullity.
In the judgment, Justice Mulwa also set aside the decision of the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal dated July 10, 2023, to validate the removal of the Kenyatta allies from the Jubilee Party leadership.
Aggrieved by the judgement, Mr Kega, Mr Kutuny and the disciplinary committee moved to the Court of Appeal seeking orders to maintain their stay in their respective offices and to stop implementation of the High Court judgement pending determination of the appeal.
The chairperson of the disciplinary committee, Ms Wanjiku Nduati, told the appeals court that if the decision of the trial court is not suspended, there will be disruption and destabilization of the Jubilee Party's activities countrywide.
But a three-judge bench comprising justices Jamila Mohammed, Mumbi Ngugi and Fred Ochieng on Friday dismissed the request stating that the disciplinary committee failed to explain which particular activities were at risk of being disrupted if the trial court's judgement is implemented.
Eala MP Kanini Kega.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
"We did not hear from any of the disciplinary committee's lawyers on the particular activities they purport will be disrupted if we do not grant the stay in the interim pending determination of the intended appeal. Mr Kioni, Mr Murathe and Mr Kagwe will resume their lawful positions in the Party and as it was pointed out, if they were to conduct business outside what they are permitted to do in the Party’s Constitution, there is a recourse," said the judges.
They, however, said the pending appeal is arguable.
Since Mr Kenyatta's retirement, the former ruling party has been marred by internal wrangles that spilled to the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) and courts.
In the pending appeal, the Kega-led faction has listed eight grounds of appeal among them faulting the trial judge for allegedly making a determination on questions which were never appealed or presented before the PPDT or the court.
Jeremiah Kioni (right) and David Murathe.
Photo credit: File I Nation Media Group
They also argue that the trial judge failed to recognise the authority of the PPDT and that she also failed to find the court lacked powers to hear and adjudicate on the meeting held in February 2023 as it was a live matter ongoing before the Party’s Internal Dispute Resolution Mechanism.
Another argument is that the trial judge erred by failing to find that the only recourse for the dispute was for the court to send the file back to PPDT for a hearing before exercising its judicial mind on the same.
