William Ruto Under Pressure to Dissolve Parliament over Gender Rule Non-Compliance: "Weakest Link"
- The failure to comply with the two-thirds gender rule according to the 2010 Constitution has reignited fresh debates
- Petitioners explained how parliament has allegedly sidelined women from leadership despite repeated court orders mandating compliance
- The petition also accused parliament of contributing to a broader pattern of governance failures, which the petitioner claimed amounts to a betrayal of constitutional principles
Search option is now available at TUKO! Feel free to search the content on topics/people you enjoy reading about in the top right corner ;)
Nancy Odindo, a TUKO.co.ke journalist, has over four years of experience covering Kenyan politics, news, and features for digital and print media.
President William Ruto is under mounting pressure following the filing of a fresh petition seeking the dissolution of parliament over its continued failure to comply with the constitutional two-thirds gender rule.
Source: Facebook
The petition, filed by the Community Advocacy and Awareness Trust (CRAWN Trust), was forwarded to Chief Justice Martha Koome, who is expected to appoint a three-judge bench to hear the matter.
This followed a determination by High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi, who noted that the issues raised in the petition mirror those presented in nine similar cases filed in 2020 by various individuals and organisations.
Search option is now available at TUKO! Feel free to search the content on topics/people you enjoy reading about in the top right corner ;)
"Parliament has crossed every red line. Kenyans cannot afford to let it keep going. We must not let them keep going. Dissolve Parliament now. For we the people, for the constitution and the republic," said Daisy Amdany, the executive director of CRAWN Trust.
Has any court ruled on dissolving parliament?
In September 2020, then chief justice David Maraga issued a formal advisory recommending the dissolution of parliament, citing its failure to implement the constitutional two-thirds gender rule.
Maraga’s advisory was not a political move but a legal response grounded in parliament’s continued non-compliance with its obligations under Articles 81(b), 81(c), and 100, as read with Articles 27(6) and 27(8) of the Constitution.
The advisory referenced a 2017 judgment by Justice John Mativo in Petition 371 of 2016, which established parliament’s duty to pass the necessary laws to ensure gender representation.
Despite the ruling, parliament failed to act, a dereliction that, according to Maraga, met the legal threshold for the extreme but constitutionally sanctioned measure of dissolution.
"That advisory has never been acted on. Parliament remains in contempt, not just of the people, but of multiple court orders, including the Supreme Court’s 2012 advisory. It continues to ignore the people, the courts and the constitution," Amdany stated.
Why should parliament be dissolved?
In its petition, CRAWN Trust accuses parliament of being the 'weakest link' in achieving gender equality, arguing that it has consistently undermined the Constitution by excluding women from leadership and legislative roles.
It further adds that parliament’s persistent failure to implement the two-thirds gender principle, as required by the 2010 Constitution, represents a betrayal of national values and the social contract with citizens.
Viral posters circulating on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), under hashtags such as #ParliamentTheWeakestLink and #DissolveParliament, claim that women currently hold only 23% of seats in parliament.
“15 years post-promulgation, Kenya has backslidden. Parliament has actively betrayed public trust by stalling on laws that guarantee inclusion, leaving core constitutional promises to women and marginalised groups hanging,” the petitioner states.
Source: Twitter
The document further accuses parliament of enabling unsustainable debt, weakening public services, mismanaging public finances, and failing to enforce laws on inclusion—actions the petitioner describes as a systematic undermining of the Constitution.
CRAWN Trust argues that representation in Parliament should mirror the country’s population and reflect gender parity.
"Parliament has become the betrayal machine, actively undermining everything the constitution stands for. It abandons its duty, leading to unsustainable debt and broken public services."
Who are the majority in National Assembly?
In other news, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula reaffirmed that the Kenya Kwanza alliance holds the majority in the House, based on official records from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties.
According to figures presented by the speaker, Ruto’s alliance commands 165 members, while the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party has 154.
The declaration followed an attempt by Azimio MPs to cross over to the majority side of the House, citing a court ruling that recognised their coalition as the rightful majority.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
