Eseli, Wamunyinyi laugh off Ford Kenya expulsion
Kanduyi MP Wafula Wamunyinyi and his Tongaren counterpart Eseli Simiyu have dismissed resolutions made by a rival faction led by Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula to expel them from Ford Kenya.
The duo who claim to have taken over the leadership of party in June termed the controversial National Executive Council (NEC) meeting as a sham, invalid and not binding because saying it was not convened properly according to the party laws.
They claimed Wetangula was trying to be politically relevant after he was purportedly removed from the party leadership.
The matter is now the subject of a court dispute.
“It’s the biggest joke of the year, just to summarise the purported NEC resolutions. Foremost, there was no quorum in that purported NEC meeting.
Those who attended were not more than 15 people. It was a collection of some Members of County Assembly and county chairmen of the party,” Eseli added.
Cautioned members
Wetang’ula had convened a meeting at a hotel on Magadi Road, off Lang’ata Road where those who attended resolved to expel Wamunyinyi; Eseli and nominated MCA Cynthia Mutere from being members of the party.
“In these resolutions passed by the party’s National Executive Council and Parliamentary Group, the party has recommended to the General Council to effect the changes,” Secretary of the Wetangula faction, Millicent Abudho, said in a signed statement further throwing the party into uncertainty following the leadership wrangles that emerged recently.
She cautioned Ford Kenya party members and supporters not to engage with the trio on any matters of the party.
“Consequently the party organs resolved to have a general council and National Delegates Congress before the year ends,” the Wetang’ula faction concluded.
But Eseli criticised Wetang’ula saying that when other” serious” senators were in the Senate discussing the revenue sharing formula, the Bungoma law maker was busy “playing games.”
On his part, Wamunyinyi said that the party has a constitution that guides its activities and any such meetings, and therefore, was surprised that Wetang’ula being a lawyer, he should not have overlooked that when convening “the illegal forum.”
“For the NEC to sit and make decisions, the Party secretary general who is Hon. Eseli Simiyu, under Article 24 (a) is the only party official mandated to convene such a meeting.
The SG is available and still working, but was not contacted or even consulted over the any NEC meeting.
“Therefore, the decision is invalid and cannot be authenticated. We dismissed the whole thing with the contempt it deserves,” said Wamunyinyi over telephone.
Presidential directive
He also said the meeting was held against a Presidential directive early in the year when Coronavirus hit the country in March banning all political gatherings.
“And because of that we have suspended our meetings until the ban is lifted,” Wamunyi added.
He said, it was laughable the Wetangula team is the one that went to court to launch a party leadership dispute against the Registrar of Political Parties, Anne Nderitu’s advise.
“To make matters worse they are the ones who went to Court, despite, the Registrar’s advise.
Both Wetang’ula and his group thus, don’t have any powers to expel anybody from the party because he stands dismissed from the Party until when the Interim leadership and other organs of Ford Kenya properly re-convene,” he said.
This is even as it emerged that Nderitu wrote to stop Wetang’ula from holding any meeting to help him regain control of the party. The NEC held in a Nairobi hotel was to ratify the expulsion of Wamunyinyi and Eseli.
