Efforts by the Kanini Kega-led faction of the Jubilee Party to hold a National Delegates Convention (NDC) next month and ratify the resolution to exit the Azimio La Umoja Coalition have been halted by the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal. The tribunal issued orders preventing the faction from convening any meetings.
The interim conservatory orders were granted following a petition filed by the Jeremiah Kioni-led group, which accused Deputy Secretary General Joshua Kutuny of disregarding court orders by planning for the NDC scheduled for July 22.
The court order stated, “All parties and their representatives are hereby restrained from issuing any communication or making any public representations on behalf of Jubilee Party. The communication dated 6th and 13th June 2023 issued by the 3rd Respondent and any other communication or decisions made by any of the parties on behalf of Jubilee Party are stayed during the proceedings.”
The faction led by former President Uhuru Kenyatta argued that Kutuny’s actions undermined the authority of the tribunal and disregarded court orders. They further emphasized that allowing the NDC to proceed would render the pending cases filed before the court meaningless and weaken its authority.
“These are significant decisions with far-reaching implications for the Jubilee Party and should await the resolution of the issues in these complaints, including whether the respondents have the authority to issue the aforementioned notices,” the petition stated.
Earlier, the Jubilee Party’s leadership, headed by acting Secretary General Kanini Kega, had announced plans to convene a Special National Delegates Convention on July 22 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. This decision was based on a resolution made by the National Executive Committee during a meeting held on Tuesday.
However, with the recent court orders, the fate of the NDC and the party’s exit from the Azimio La Umoja Coalition remains uncertain, pending further resolution of the dispute by the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal.
