Nominated Member of Parliament Sabina Chege has been replaced as the Deputy Minority Whip in the National Assembly.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, October 25, Speaker Moses Wetangula adopted the recommendations by the Jubilee Party to replace Sabina Chege with Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje.
Further, Wetangula ruled that all privileges and trappings of the office will henceforth be accorded to Mwenje.
However, Sabina will henceforth assume the role of Jubilee Party’s Whip in the House on an interim basis.
“That consequently Honorable Sabina Chege by virtue the written support of 21 members out of 28 members of Jubilee party in the house in the letter dated 13 June 2023 and on account of having been the last officially recognized member of Jubilee Party forming part of the leadership is allowed to perform the role of the whip of that party in the house,” Wetangula ruled.
Earlier on Wednesday, members of the Jubilee Party affiliated with the Azimio la Umoja Coalition staged protests outside parliament buildings calling for the removal of Sabina from the position.
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The members carrying placards had demanded instant adoption of the party’s resolution to remove Sabina from the Deputy Whip role.
On the other hand, however, members of a parliament affiliated with Sabina Chege’s faction had rubbished attempts to make leadership changes in parliament.
The members led by Nakuru West MP Samuel Arama claimed that the right procedure was not followed in the process of replacing the former Women Representative painting the picture of the division in the party.
Sabina Chege stages coup
But the division in the former ruling party is not new. Shortly after the 2022 elections, a splinter group within the party emerged and pledged allegiance to the Kenya Kwanza government.
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The group, led by Sabina Chege and former Kieni MP Kanini Kega vowed to work with the government and opposed the then ongoing anti-government protests.
On one side, the pro-government faction vowed to support Sabina Chege as the Party Leader. While the other vowed to stick with Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni.
What followed was protracted court battles, with each faction claiming to have the legitimacy to speak and negotiate on the party’s behalf.