The High Court has lifted National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula's indefinite suspension of Kitutu Chache MP Anthony Kibagendi.
In a ruling delivered on Thursday, March 19, Justice Bahati Mwamuye granted a conservatory order halting the directive issued by Wetang'ula, effectively reinstating Kibagendi.
This allows him to resume his duties in both the House and its committees pending the hearing and determination of his petition.
The ruling has sparked reactions from political leaders, with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna welcoming the court’s intervention while criticizing the circumstances surrounding the suspension.
"This is encouraging from our Courts though it took inordinately long to get this order. What Speaker Moses Wetang'ula did was manifestly illegal and unconstitutional," he said.
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Sifuna further questioned the legality of Wetang'ula's actions, particularly regarding conduct outside parliamentary proceedings.
"Even people who never went to law school know a Speaker has no powers over members conduct outside Parliament. Kicking an MP from Parliament for something he said on TV is one of the worst manifestations of abuse of power and impunity in the history of Parliament," he added.
The ruling comes a month after Wetang'ula kicked Kibagendi out of Parliament over remarks he made during a TV interview.
Speaking on Tuesday, February 17, Wetangula raked the whip on Kibagendi after he claimed that the National Assembly had been auctioned to the government.
Kibagendi had further accused the Speaker and his deputies of destroying and ruining the National Assembly.
Wetangula ordered Kibagendi out of the House, banned him from accessing Parliament and his office until he issues an apology to the House.
"For you, as a member, to say that the House has been auctioned, then you have no business sitting in an auctioned House.
"Hon Kibagendi, you will be excluded from the sittings of this house until you bring a properly worded apology not to me, but the house, for bringing the house to disrepute," he declared.
Wetang'ula further ruled that Kibagendi will not be allowed attend Parliamentary committee meetings, and declared him a stranger to the House.
He further reassured that he was impartial in his actions and was not influenced by anyone when making decisions.
"Since I came to this house, nobody has ever called me your speaker to tell me what to do or not to do, and if anybody did, I would reject it.
"I am human, I would have made an erroneous ruling, a ruling that displeases anybody, but the rulings that are made here are but raised by thelaw. I may misinterpret the law as many lawyers do, but that is a right I have," he stated.
