Judges of the Court of Appeal have dismissed a petition by Speaker Moses Wetang’ula that sought to suspend a High Court ruling declaring the Azimio Coalition as the majority in the National Assembly.

The National Assembly, led by Speaker Wetang'ula, had moved to the Appeallate court seeking to have the decision suspended. They also indicated that the High Court’s ruling would disrupt the operations of the National Assembly.

In a ruling delivered by a three-judge bench on Friday, March 21, the Appellate Court refused to grant conservatory orders stopping the High Court ruling, stating that doing so would inadvertently endorse Wetang’ula’s claim that the Kenya Kwanza coalition was the majority, while the High Court had yet to determine whether it complied with its earlier judgment. The hearing of the petition is currently before the High Court.

At the same time, the judges Daniel Musinga, Mumbi Ngugi, and Francis Tuiyott also dismissed claims that the High Court ruling delivered on February 7 would bring the operations of the National Assembly to a halt.

"With regard to the argument that the High Court judgment has highly disrupted the work of the National Assembly, there is no sufficient evidence before us that the business of the National Assembly is likely to grind to a halt unless the orders sought are granted," read the ruling in part.

"Even after the contested Speaker’s ruling of 12th February 2025, the National Assembly has continued to discharge its duties, albeit with some acrimony,” the judges noted.

Moreover, fears that the ruling could lead to legal consequences, for example, contempt of court proceedings against Speaker Wetangula were also dismissed by the court, “The likelihood of a party being summoned to court to respond to an allegation of contempt of court and the attendant inconvenience or embarrassment that may be so occasioned as a result is not sufficient reason to stay court proceedings.” 

However, the judges declined to issue a ruling on whether Wetangula could serve as a Speaker and Ford Kenya party leader at the same time.

"Regarding Hon. Wetangula's dual role as Speaker of the National Assembly and leader of Ford Kenya, it was submitted, and rightly so, that there was no dispositive order that was made by the High Court on the issue," the judges added.

"In the circumstances, we cannot pronounce ourselves on the same in an application for stay of proceedings or execution as the one before us. We can only stay a positive order that was issued by the trial court."

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