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{
    "id": 1203200,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1203200/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 117,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "3. The Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) with Kenya Kwanza, led by our brother and colleague Hon. David Ochieng. Hon. Speaker, all these coalitions are to bear witness that, indeed, Kenya Kwanza is a Coalition of Political Parties as per the definition of the Act. The second definition is one of a coalition political party. The Act tells us that this means a coalition registered by the Registrar as a political party. I would, therefore, beg and challenge my colleagues – Hon. Junet Mohamed and Hon. Opiyo Wandayi – whom you call my protagonist even though he is my very good friend. They are here contending to be leading the Majority. Hon. Speaker, the question of determining the majority party is very easy. That is because it is a question of calculating the numbers of parliamentary political parties. The definition of a parliamentary political party is in Standing Order No.20. We must then ask ourselves the question: Is the Azimio One Kenya Alliance a coalition political party or a parliamentary political party? The straight answer is that Azimio One Kenya Coalition Party does not exist as a parliamentary political party. Hon. Speaker, but that does not mean that the constituent parties that came together to form Azimio One Kenya Alliance Political Party are not parties in their own right. That is why with all due respect to the other parties and, indeed, Hon. Speaker, you have also in your Communication alluded to the fact that Jubilee Party, which is my former Party, has also written to you communicating their leadership in this House. What does that tell you? It means that the Jubilee Party appreciates that the Azimio One Kenya Alliance Coalition Political Party does not exist in this House either as a parliamentary political party or as a coalition of political parties as per the definition in Article 108 and Standing Order No.19. That would then mean that ODM, besides KANU, is the oldest political party in this country with slightly above 80 MPs. It is then the second largest political party after the Kenya Kwanza Coalition of Political Parties. I am not saying this to belittle all the other partners in the Azimio One Kenya Alliance. But that is what we created in the mess that was in the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill that was debated in this House over the Christmas recess in December 2021, and completed in January, 2022. I remember standing in my place somewhere behind here, reminding our colleagues: “That this law that you have just passed will punish you more than it will ever punish me, or those of us that were then called the Tanga Tanga or UDA brigade. Hon. Speaker, chickens have come home to roost. Nobody is being punished! But we are paying for that acrimonious debate and a law that was procured in this Assembly in a manner that we should never ever engage in procuring or in legislating. We are a House that legislates through consultations. We never consulted each other as we passed that law. It is sad and I pray that this 13th Assembly will not and will never take the route that the 12th Assembly took. We must be a House that consults. I am glad that we sit here with my brother, Hon. Opiyo Wandayi and Hon. Junet as colleagues in one House listening to each other and debating, because this is a House of debate. We must gain the respect and dignity that we are accorded by the Kenyan people who have elected us by coming to this House, listening to each other and debating. Hon. Speaker, I want to submit that besides the agreements that we are tabling, when I say that Azimio One Kenya Coalition Party is not a parliamentary political party, it is because the definition as contained in our Standing Orders stipulates that you must have at least 5 per cent of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}