Win for Uhuru Kenyatta as He Reclaims Jubilee Party Leadership after High Court Ruling

• The High Court has reinstated ex-president Uhuru Kenyatta’s leadership of the Jubilee Party, affirming Saitoti Torome as national chairman and Jeremiah Kioni as secretary-general
• The court upheld key resolutions from the April and May 2023 National Delegates Convention, nullifying earlier decisions by the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal
• While speaking to TUKO.co.ke, lawyer Jackson Awele confirmed the court’s approval of the party's new legal representation

Nancy Odindo, a TUKO.co.ke journalist, has over four years of experience covering Kenyan politics, news, and features for digital and print media.

Retired president Uhuru Kenyatta has officially regained full control of the Jubilee Party following a decisive ruling by the Milimani High Court’s Civil Division.

The ruling, delivered on Thursday, June 12, now reinstates Uhuru’s leadership in the party, with Saitoti Torome now confirmed as the national chairman and Jeremiah Kioni as the secretary-general.

How did Uhuru win the Jubilee Party leadership case?

The court validated key resolutions passed during the party's National Delegates Convention (NDC) held in April and May 2023, which Uhuru attended.

The High Court’s decision effectively nullified the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal ruling and an earlier decision by the Jubilee Party's Internal Disputes Resolution Committee (IDRC), which had also sought to invalidate the NDC resolutions.

The court further endorsed a consent filed by Jubilee’s legal team led by Jackson Awele, solidifying the party’s leadership structure.

“The National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and the National Delegates Convention held on April 28 and May 22, 2023, respectively, are hereby upheld, and consequently, the resolutions from those meetings are valid and binding,” the court ruled.

Awele confirmed that the court had also approved the party's change of legal representation, allowing the newly appointed advocates to proceed with the submission of the NDC resolutions to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) for formal adoption.

“This effectively means that the NDC resolutions have been validated. We are now in the process of submitting to the ORPP for formal adoption,” Awele told TUKO.co.ke.

This ruling marks a significant setback for the faction led by East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Kanini Kega, which had previously secured a favourable judgment from the PPDT challenging the legitimacy of the NDC.

The Kega-led faction, which included former Cherengany MP Joshua Kutuny, and nominated MP Sabina Chege, had attempted to take over the party.

What led to Uhuru's win of the Jubilee Party?

Notably, in March, Nelson Dzuya—a key figure aligned with the Kega faction—consented to changes made to the party's leadership during the May 2023 Special National Delegates Convention (SNDC).

During this convention, the party resolved to expel disloyal members and appointed new officials to the NDC.

Although Dzuya’s faction initially succeeded in overturning the SNDC through the PPDT, he later filed the consent through lawyer Awele and with support from the IDRC’s new counsel, Franklin Mwendani, to acknowledge the legitimacy of the SNDC and its outcomes.

In court, Awele argued that the dispute between the Jubilee factions had been settled, rendering the IDRC’s involvement no longer necessary.

The High Court’s verdict now brings to a close the leadership wrangles that have plagued the party for months and firmly returns control to the retired president.

Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.

Source: TUKO.co.ke