The six are Linah Jebii Kilimo of Marakwet East, Gideon Kioko Mbuvi of Makadara, David Ngugi of Kinangop, Mwangi Barnabas Muturi of Kiharu, Clement Waibara of Gatundu North and Richard Onyonka of Kitutu Chache/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 5 – Six Members of Parliament have been rendered party-less by the Registrar of Political Parties according to documents presented to the High Court on Tuesday.
The six are Linah Jebii Kilimo of Marakwet East, Gideon Kioko Mbuvi of Makadara, David Ngugi of Kinangop, Mwangi Barnabas Muturi of Kiharu, Clement Waibara of Gatundu North and Richard Onyonka of Kitutu Chache.
Registrar Lucy Ndungu filed the papers after Justice Mohammed Warsame ordered her to submit the full list of MPs and their current affiliation in court.
The move was precipitated by a case filed by Friends of Raila (FORA) who moved to court in May seeking an order forcing the Registrar to write to the Speaker National Assembly to declare vacant the seats held by rebel ODM MPs
Ngugi, Muturi and Kilimo are party-less after their sponsor parties Sisi Kwa Sisi and KENDA respectively were deregistered for failing to comply with the Political Parties Act.
Mbuvi popularly known as Sonko who was elected on Narc Kenya has also been declared party-less until a case pending in court against the AG and the Registrar of is heard and determined.
Kitutu Chache MP Richard Onyonka who was elected on People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was removed under Section 14 of the Political Parties Act after he recently announced his defection to ODM.
Article 14(5) provides that: “A person who, while being a member of a political party forms another political party, joins in the formation of another political party, joins another political party, in any way or manner, publicly advocates for the formation of another political party; or promotes the ideology, interests or policies of another political party shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (1) or the provisions of any other written law, be deemed to have resigned from the previous political party.”
Gatundu North MP Waibara who was elected on Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya (PICK) ticket was declared party-less after his name was found missing in the membership database at the Registrar’s office.
MPs formerly belonging to ODM-K were also registered as belonging to Wiper Democratic Party after the party applied to the Registrar seeking to change its name.
MPs Aden Duale, Joshua Kutuny, William Ruto, Charles Keter and Isaac Ruto who have declared their intention to move to the United Republican Party (URP) have also been listed as ODM members pending the determination of a case against them by Mpuri Aburi.
Meanwhile, the Party of National Unity (PNU) and the National Alliance of Kenya Party (NAK) have been enjoined as interested parties in the case by FORA seeking interpretation that MPs who defected be forced to resign from their seats.
The Registrar of Political Parties has in the recent past come under fire for her perceived failure to rein in MPs who have declared allegiance to parties other than those that sponsored them to Parliament.
In May however, Ndung’u insisted that she had played her part in ensuring discipline in political parties and that it was parties that have failed to use their internal mechanisms to ensure that members stay within the law.
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