Tribunal Suspends ODM’s Decision to Expel MPs
Tuesday, the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal suspended the expulsion of three Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) parliamentarians.
Elisha Odhiambo (Gem), Phelix Odiwuor (Lang’ata), and Tom Ojienda (Kisumu Senator) are among the members of parliament.
As part of issuing the directive, the court stated that the new order would remain in effect until a challenge to their removal was decided.
In addition, the court issued an order prohibiting the Registrar of Political Parties from making any modifications to the expulsion in question.
The tribunal also prevented the political organization from dismissing the MPs from their committee positions.
The case will thus be discussed on September 20, 2023.
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The three legislators were expelled from the party led by Raila for flagrant insubordination and disloyalty.
The parliamentarians petitioned the PPDT for restraining orders to prevent ODM from expelling them from the party last week to contest their expulsion.
In addition, they requested that the tribunal prevent the party from removing them from their numerous parliamentary committees.
The three legislators, Elisha Odhiambo (Gem), Phelix Odiwuor (Lang’ata), and Tom Ojienda (Senator Kisumu), filed separate motions alleging they were being used as scapegoats due to their close relationship with the president.
Raila Odinga, the leader of the ODM, defended the party’s decision to expel the legislators.
In a previous statement, Odinga reprimanded the MPs for betraying the political organization, arguing that the ODM’s strength is contingent on the discipline of its members.
“ODM must be a strong party. The party can only be strong when there’s discipline. It cannot progress when there are cases of indiscipline,” he said.
Tribunal Suspends ODM’s Decision to Expel MPs