Sabina Chege moves to court to block ouster as deputy minority whip

Nominated MP Sabina Chege (Jubilee Party) has gone to court to block her removal as deputy minority whip in the National Assembly.

In an urgent application filed by the Association of Friends of Youth and Women (AFYW), Ms Chege, whom the breakaway faction in the former ruling party recognises as the party leader, is asking the High Court to intervene before a decision to remove her from the position is implemented.

Ms Chege, who was nominated to Parliament by Jubilee, fears that the recommendation by the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya coalition party to have her removed will infringe on her fundamental rights.

In the application, filed by lawyer Bryan Khaemba, the politician urges the court to expeditiously hear and determine the case filed by AFYW.

The current application before the Constitutional Court is an appeal against a ruling by a Kiambu High Court judge, Lady Justice Dora Chepkwony, who ordered Ms Chege to take her complaint to the appropriate forum.

In her ruling, Justice Chepkwony refused to stop the Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetang'ula, from effecting the decision of the Azimio party to remove her as deputy minority leader.
Justice Chepkwony noted that Ms Chege had not exhausted all avenues to resolve the leadership tussle between her and Azimio.

"The petitioner has not exhausted all available alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms as provided for in the Political Parties Act and therefore the court has no jurisdiction to hear and determine the petition," Justice Chepkwony ruled.

Mr Khaemba says in the appeal that Ms Chege is gravely dissatisfied with the ruling which declined to prohibit her removal from the position of deputy minority whip.

In her original case, Ms Chege had asked the High Court to declare the National Assembly Standing Orders No. 20 A(4) and (5) null and void.

Mr Khaemba is now urging the court to grant the orders sought by her client arguing it has the original jurisdiction to interpret the law as provided for in Article 165 (3) (d) of the Constitution.

"The High Court is vested with the power to hear and determine the legality or otherwise of any provision of law or any other act purporting to be done under the authority of the Constitution or any other written law," argues Mr Khaemba.

Pleading for the High Court's intervention, Mr Khaemba said if the Speaker is not restrained from implementing the decision to remove or replace Ms Chege in the position as communicated on May 4, 2023, the appeal she has filed will be rendered moot and an academic exercise.

"There will be no live dispute on which the court can pronounce if she is removed," says Mr Khaemba.

The lawyer says Ms Chege's appeal has a strong chance of success and she will be treated unfairly if the court does not intervene urgently.

He is therefore asking the court to issue an interim order restraining the Speaker of the National Assembly from removing Ms Chege from office.

The case is supported by an affidavit sworn by a Kiambu resident, Mr Allan Mburu, who says that Justice Chepkwony's failure to restrain Mrs Chege from being dewhipped "has unfairly driven her from the seat of justice with nowhere to go as the court has no jurisdiction under the Political Parties Act to interpret the law".

Mr Mburu agrees with Mr Khaemba that the case deserves the intervention of the High Court.
Jubilee has been embroiled in a leadership tussle since former President Uhuru Kenyatta handed over power to President William Ruto of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), which is a major shareholder in the ruling Kenya Kwanza Coalition.

The Kanini Kega faction supports Ms Chege, while the Jeremiah Kioni faction recognises Mr Kenyatta as Jubilee leader. Mr Kega is a member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).

The Kega faction now supports the government of the day.

[email protected]