Ruto Outsmarts Raila In Parliament, Senate
Uasin Gishu woman representative-elect Gladys Shollei secured the last seat of the day on Thursday, September 8
Marvin Chege 
President-elect William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza coalition toppled both Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga's Azimio la Umoja to clinch the Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions in the National Assembly and the Senate.
Uasin Gishu woman representative-elect Gladys Shollei secured the last seat of the day on Thursday, September 8, as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, consolidating Kenya Kwanza's presence in the highly coveted Speaker posts.
Shollei won the race with 198 votes while her closest rival, Farah Maalim, got 139 votes. While no candidate received the required number of votes from MPs, that is, a two-thirds majority, Maalim conceded defeat leading to Shollei being declared the winner at about some minutes after 10 pm and sworn in 30 minutes later.
"I congratulate my worthy opponent, Gladys Shollei. I choose to do what is noble and good, I concede defeat, and urge the Speaker to declare Shollei the duly elected Deputy Speaker," Maalim said.
Earlier on, Ford-Kenya party leader, Moses Wetangula became the new Speaker of the National Assembly after he beat Kenneth Marende of the Azimio la Umoja coalition, who consequently withdrew from the race at the second round.
"I promise to see to it that you are able to effectively discharge your Constitutional mandate and I will unequivocally submit myself to the collective will of this House and reiterate my singular desire to serve with impartiality, fidelity to the Constitution and the laws of this land," Wetangula stated in his maiden speech.
"As you assume the office and embark on discharging the duties of the speaker, I trust that you will find this set of past rulings by your predecessors most useful. Congratulations Mr speaker," outgoing speaker Justin Muturi saluted while handing over the mantle to him.
The tight contest saw him garner 215 votes against Marende's 130.
The spoilt vote that was recorded brought the total number of votes to 346. However, he required over 230 votes to win.
Another pair of winners from Kenya Kwanza were former Kilifi governor, Amason Jeffah Kingi, elected as the Speaker of the Senate. He will be deputized by Meru Senator, Kathuri Murungi who was appointed under the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
"I salute Members of Parliament for trusting Kenya Kwanza to provide leadership in both Houses; a clear indication of our national support. Congratulations to Moses Wetang’ula and Amason Kingi on your election as speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate respectively.
"Well in Gladys Shollei and Kathuri Murungi as deputy speakers. Your elevation is a clear demonstration of Kenya Kwanza's support. I have tremendous faith that you will serve the people of Kenya with purpose and distinction," Ruto stated.
The Senate contest saw Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka quit at the last minute. Sources privy to the plan of ensuring Kenya Kwanza bags both the top positions revealed that Ruto called for a meeting with senators from his camp on Wednesday, September 7 in which he also asked them to reach out to a few senators from Azimio in secret and win them over.
Notably, the plan caught the Azimio leaders unawares and they expressed their surprise on social media.
“This is politics and there is nothing wrong with reaching out to our colleagues from the other side. We did it so well and it worked for us. You go for the strategy that can give you a win against your competitor,” a senator allied to the president-elect revealed.
The deal saw at least 10 senators from the Azimio vote for Kingi who won with 46 votes. The 10 senators remained in the chambers as the rest, walked out claiming that they would not participate in what they described as a flawed process.
Newly-elected Senate Speaker, Amason Kingi. /FILE
Those who voted for Kingi were Madzayo (ODM), Kwale’s Juma Boy (ODM), Joseph Githuku (Lamu, Jubilee), Mohamed Faki (Mombasa, ODM), and Taita Taveta’s Johnes Mwaruma (ODM).
The others included Okiya Omtatah (Busia, NRA), Mr Abdul Haji (Garissa, Jubilee), Ms Fatuma Dullo (Isiolo, Jubilee), Prof Margaret Kamar (nominated, Jubilee), and Turkana Senator James Lomenen (Jubilee).
