Lobby takes a stab at defectors

Presidential aspirants Uhuru Kenyatta, Musalia Mudavadi, William Ruto and Peter Kenneth are among scores of MPs who risk losing their seats for defecting from parties that sponsored them.

This follows a decision by a lobby linked to Prime Minister Raila Odinga to move to court seeking orders to eject them from Parliament.

The Friends of Raila (Fora) lobby wants the court to order the Registrar of Political Parties to write to the Speaker of the National Assembly to declare the seats held by the MPs vacant.

Recently sacked Cabinet minister Najib Balala and Justice minister Eugene Wamalwa are also among the nearly 100 MPs who may be affected.

Mr Kenyatta has left Kanu, which sponsored him to Parliament and is now associated with The National Alliance while Mr Kenneth, who went to Parliament on a PNU ticket is in the Kenya National Congress.

Mr Mudavadi and Mr Ruto have ditched ODM for the United Democratic Forum and United Republican Party respectively. Dozens of MPs have moved with them.

Fora’s petition is signed by officials Micah Kigen (chairman), Hassan Omar Hassan (vice chairman), Eliud Owalo (secretary) and activist Charles Omanga.

It contends that the Registrar’s failure to take action against the MPs is a violation of the Constitution and the Political Parties Act.

“We also want an order directing that the said Members of Parliament are deemed to have resigned from their sponsoring political parties pursuant to section 14 of the Political Parties Act and accordingly need to seek a fresh mandate from their constituents,” said the lobby group’s lawyer Anthony Oluoch.

The move comes only a day after Cabinet ministers Moses Wetang’ula and James Orengo challenged the Registrar of Political Parties, Ms Lucy Ndung’u, to declare the seats held by such MPs vacant because they had violated the law. (READ: Orengo dares Mudavadi and Ruto to quit seats)

Speaking in Wagai, Gem constituency on Saturday, Mr Orengo challenged Mr Mudavadi and MPs allied to him to resign from Parliament and seek a fresh mandate on a UDF ticket.

Mr Wetang’ula asked the Registrar and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to enforce the law by declaring the seats vacant.

“It is callous for legislators to blatantly violate the new Constitution by undermining the very parties that elected them. These party hoppers are being illogical when they say openly that they have defected to other parties yet they remain in Parliament by virtue of belonging to parties they have disowned,” said Mr Wetang’ula .

“IEBC has a constitutional mandate to move with speed and declare seats for such MPs vacant,” said the minister.

IEBC chairman Ahmed Isaack Hassan was recently quoted stating that the commission had identified some 100 MPs who had violated the Political Parties Act by shifting allegiance to other parties.

Reached for comment, Ms Lucy Ndung’u, the Registrar of Political Parties, and the chairman of the Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution, Mr Charles Nyachae, refused to comment on the matter. “I’ve not seen the court documents so I cannot comment,” said Ms Ndung’u.

Mr Nyachae promised to issue a statement on the matter today.
“The part of the Constitution that deals directly with the matter is chapter 7 which is suspended until after the first General Election but we are combing through the Political Parties Act with a tooth comb so that we can give an informed opinion tomorrow,’ he said.

Makadara MP Gideon Mbuvi (Narc Kenya) and his Mathira counterpart Ephraim Maina (Safina) were expelled by their parties for supporting other parties in by-elections. However, they got a reprieve after the High Court issued orders stopping their expulsion until their cases are heard and determined.

The lobby group’s petition is also seeking a directive to the registrar to publish information regarding all political parties that complied with the Act as at April 30 and a list of MPs who are registered in those parties.

They accused Ms Ndung’u of failing to ensure and verify that no person is a member of more than one party despite public declarations by some MPs that they had changed parties.

According to the petitioners, Ms Ndung’u has failed to fully comply with Section 34 of the Political Parties Act which gives her power to register, regulate, monitor, investigate, and supervise political parties to ensure compliance with the Act.

Section 14 of the Act provides that any person who while being a member of a political party falls out with the party shall be deemed to have resigned from the previous political party.

“It is now in public domain that a good number of MPs have formed, joined and promoted the ideologies of other parties which did not sponsor them to Parliament under the watchful eye of the registrar and in breach of her statutory duties,” said Mr Oluoch.

He said that Article 35 of the Constitution gives a duty to the registrar not only to disclose which MPs have breached the law but also to take action to ensure the rule of law is followed.

The lobby group wants a declaration that the registrar is an independent office and should discharge her duties without directions of any person and therefore should be obligated to ensure compliance with the rule of law and promotion of the Constitution.