Kingi ends Senate stalemate, upholds minority leadership changes
The weeks-long stalemate on the Senate leadership has come to an end after Speaker Amason Kingi upheld the leadership changes in the minority leadership.
Kingi has acknowledged the changes that involve Narok Senator Ledama Olekina now replacing Fatuma Dullo as the Minority Whip, while Edwin Sifuna takes over as the Deputy Minority Whip.
“Senator Fatuma Dullo has been validly removed as Senate Minority Whip. Senator Ledama Olekina has been validly elected as Senate Minority whip,” Speaker Kingi ruled.
The decision came after Nyamira Senator Okong’o Mogeni presented a letter from the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal (PPDT) on Wednesday, giving the Speaker the green light to communicate the new minority whip of the Senate.
The stalemate began when Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition senators boycotted plenary sittings for the last three weeks, aiming to paralyze any business by President William Ruto’s government brought before the House until Speaker Kingi recognizes the leadership changes made by the minority side.
They had accused Kingi of pushing a political agenda in the stalemate.
Dullo was among the 30 Jubilee Party MPs who visited President William Ruto and his deputy at State House on February 8, 2023.
This irked members of the Azimio-One Kenya coalition who castigated the lawmaker for working with the government. On February 15, 16 senators voted to remove her from her role as the minority whip.
However, on February 28, Dullo received a reprieve after the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal (PPDT) stopped the Senate Speaker from issuing a communication to remove her as the minority whip.