Concerns are mounting over perceived partisanship by the two Speakers of Parliament, with critics complaining that they seem to be taking longer to settle into their respective roles as neutral umpires.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula and Senate’s Amason Kingi have been openly taking partisan positions in public, putting into question their ability to objectively preside over hot-button issues in the two Houses.
During a recent prayer meeting in Malava, Wetang'ula waded into the Azimio mass action, defending the Kenya Kwanza government and dismissing ODM boss Raila Odinga as a loser.
He said no talks would happen between Raila and President William Ruto unless the opposition boss “stops calling us illegitimate”.
Raila has declared Ruto an illegitimate president.
“Nothing is wrong with talking, but Raila Odinga must recognise the legitimacy of President William Ruto’s government before we sit down to talk. If you say we are illegitimate, then we have no business talking with you,” Wetang'ula said.
Last month in Nandi during yet another prayer meeting, he dismissed demonstrations, saying elections had ended and the Kenya Kwanza government would block protests.
“Kenya has already moved on to build her economy and the Kenya Kwanza government will not allow room for mass action in the country," he said.
Wetang'ula’s alleged bias started swirling once he made the ruling on the majority coalition.
The decision, delivered on October 6, 2022, factored defections of MPs from the opposition bench and the end result was Kenya Kwanza had 179 MPs while Azimio had 157.
But Azimio MPs disagreed, even becoming disorderly, prompting Wetang'ula to adjourn.
Narok Senator Ledama Olekina has also accused the Speaker of bias, claiming he was undermining bipartisan talks.
“We want to engage in a bipartisan manner on national issues but when you have a partisan Speaker like Wetang'ula, then this country is jinxed! I see Maandamano Monday coming back," Olekina said.
Speaker Kingi had his neutrality put into question when he handled the question of dewhipping some members of the opposition.
Kingi appeared to shield Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo from removal as Minority Whip by Azimio even after a court cleared the path for the decision.
Like Wetang'ula, who heads Ford Kenya, Kingi remains the leader of PAA.
Declining to effect Minority leadership changes saw opposition senators boycott sittings for over three weeks.
And on Azimio's demand for the opening of servers, Kingi also waded in, reciting Kenya's Kwanza refrain that the structures that adjudicate electoral issues had dealt with the matter.
“….our Constitution has very elaborate provisions on how presidential election disputes are to be prosecuted and settled. Anybody calling for resolution of such disputes outside the Constitution is making a mockery of our Constitution and our democratic values,” he posted on his Twitter handle.
Civil society group’s led by veteran activist Suba Churchill told the Star that they have observed with concern the continued one-sided decisions from the Speakers who should remain blind to coalition colours.
“It is very concerning to us that the two speakers do not care to put a veneer of neutrality when determining major issues of significant passion. We demand that they widen their horizons to see their mandates as wider than Kenya Kwanza,” he said.
Efforts to contact Wetang'ula and Kingi to respond to the concerns were unsuccessful as both did not pick calls or respond to text messages.
