In a significant legal and political development, former nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba has formally withdrawn her constitutional petition challenging her controversial removal from the Senate.
The move comes just days after she scored a major victory at a lower court, which found her expulsion from the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party to be illegal.
Orwoba, through her lawyer, appeared before Justice Chacha Mwita at the Milimani Constitutional and Human Rights Division on Tuesday, filing a notice to withdraw the case she had lodged on August 20, 2025. The petition had sought to challenge a gazette notice dated May 21 that declared her Senate seat vacant.
“It is my request that the same petition be marked as withdrawn,” her lawyer, Ombaso, told the court. Justice Mwita allowed the application and ordered the case closed.
This withdrawal is directly linked to a landmark ruling delivered by the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) on August 20. In its decision, the tribunal quashed the UDA party’s decision to expel Orwoba, finding that the disciplinary proceedings against her were “marred by legal procedural lapses and irregularities.”
Following these findings, the tribunal ordered UDA to reverse its decision and reinstate her as a party member.
Orwoba’s initial High Court petition had been a comprehensive legal assault on the institutions involved in her removal. She had named UDA, the Senate, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), and the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties as respondents.
In her application, she sought, among other things, “a declaration that the respondents infringed on the petitioner’s political rights, rights to administrative action and the right to a fair hearing.” She had also requested conservatory orders to block the swearing-in of her nominated successor, Consolata Wabwire, arguing that the decision for her removal was “unlawful and illegal defective.”
The tribunal’s ruling effectively nullified the foundation of her removal from the Senate, which is contingent on one ceasing to be a member of the sponsoring party. With the PPDT ordering her reinstatement to UDA, the basis for declaring her seat vacant and nominating a replacement collapsed.
Legal experts suggest that Orwoba’s strategic withdrawal allows her to leverage the tribunal’s binding decision to reclaim her Senate seat without a protracted constitutional battle. The focus now shifts to the UDA party and the Senate to comply with the tribunal’s orders and facilitate her return to the House.
The case has been closely watched as a test of the internal disciplinary mechanisms of political parties and the power of judicial bodies to check actions that violate members’ constitutional rights.
