{"id":134783,"date":"2026-03-19T11:03:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/court-reinstates-kibagendi-after-speaker-wetangula-suspension-order\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T11:03:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:03:40","slug":"court-reinstates-kibagendi-after-speaker-wetangula-suspension-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/court-reinstates-kibagendi-after-speaker-wetangula-suspension-order\/","title":{"rendered":"Court Reinstates Kibagendi After Speaker Wetangula Suspension Order"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI,Kenya Mar 19-Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi has been allowed back to Parliament after the High Court temporarily lifted a decision by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang\u2019ula to bar him from the House.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In orders issued on Thursday, Justice Bahati Mwamuye directed that the legislator resumes his parliamentary duties pending the hearing and determination of a case he has filed challenging the suspension.<\/p>\n

The judge suspended the Speaker\u2019s directive issued on February 17, 2026, effectively restoring Kibagendi\u2019s access to parliamentary proceedings, including committee sittings.<\/p>\n

\u201cPending the hearing and determination of this suit, the applicant is hereby allowed to access Parliament and continue discharging his duties as a Member of Parliament,\u201d the court ruled.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the High Court barred the Speaker and the National Assembly from taking any further disciplinary action against the MP in relation to the matter under dispute.<\/p>\n

Lawyers representing the Speaker had sought to block the case, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to interfere with internal parliamentary processes, citing the doctrine of separation of powers.<\/p>\n

However, Justice Mwamuye dismissed the objection, finding that the dispute raises constitutional questions, particularly regarding the rights of the legislator and the representation of his constituents.<\/p>\n

The court noted that barring the MP from Parliament could deny residents of Kitutu Chache South their right to representation.<\/p>\n

Dispute Over Suspension<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kibagendi moved to court through his lawyer Ombui Ratemo after he was suspended and denied access to the precincts of Parliament.<\/p>\n

The disciplinary action followed remarks he made during a television interview, where he questioned the independence of Parliament and its leadership\u2019s ability to safeguard the institution\u2019s autonomy.<\/p>\n

In response, Speaker Wetang\u2019ula ruled that the comments were inappropriate and directed that the MP be locked out of House proceedings and committee sittings until he issued an apology.<\/p>\n

In his petition, Kibagendi argues that the Speaker\u2019s decision was unconstitutional and did not follow due process.<\/p>\n

His legal team contends that the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act does not apply to statements made outside Parliament, and therefore could not lawfully be used to punish him.<\/p>\n

They further argue that the suspension violated his rights to fair administrative action, access to justice, and a fair hearing.<\/p>\n

The case is set to be heard and determined at a later date, with the court\u2019s interim orders allowing the MP to continue representing his constituents in the meantime.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI,Kenya Mar 19-Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi has been allowed back to Parliament after the High Court temporarily lifted a decision by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang\u2019ula to bar him from the House. In orders issued on Thursday, Justice Bahati Mwamuye directed that the legislator resumes his parliamentary duties pending the hearing and determination […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134783\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}