The High Court has dealt the UDA party a setback in its attempt to expel nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba and revoke her Senate nomination.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, April 14, Justice Lawrence Mugambi directed the party to comply with orders issued by the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT), which reinstated Orwoba to both the party and the Senate.
UDA had moved to the High Court seeking to halt the implementation of the tribunal’s decision, arguing that enforcing the orders would cause significant and irreversible harm to its Electoral Nomination and Dispute Resolution Committee (ENDRC).
Judiciary Steps In, Blocks UDA’s Attempt to Revoke Orwoba Nomination. Photo: Courtesy.
The party claimed the committee would be effectively barred from exercising its disciplinary powers.
However, Justice Mugambi found that UDA failed to demonstrate how the tribunal’s decision would interfere with the committee’s mandate to discipline members, and declined to grant the orders sought.
Mugambi consequently upheld the decision of the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT), which nullified both Orwoba’s expulsion from the party and the gazettement of Consolata Nabwire as her replacement in the Senate.
Orwoba welcomed the High Court’s decision and expressed gratitude to her legal team, maintaining that she remains lawfully in office.
The tribunal had earlier invalidated her expulsion, citing legal lapses and procedural irregularities in the disciplinary process.
It further found that the move to remove her from the party contravened the principles of natural justice.
Orwoba’s troubles stem from allegations that she violated the UDA constitution by attending the homecoming event of former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on May 2, 2025.
She also faced disciplinary action over remarks made during an April 22, 2025, interview on Spice FM, where she publicly criticised President William Ruto’s labour mobility programme.
