National Assembly Chief whip Sylavus Osoro claims he bribed Azimio MPs to be absent during voting of Finance Bill, 2023
The ruling coalition gained numerical advantage after some Azimio MPs were given ‘soup’ to travel abroad or feign sickness.
Section of Azimio MPs gave flimsy explanation on what orchestrated to their absenteeism
ODM has since constituted disciplinary measures against those seemed to have betrayed the party at the hour of need
Members of Parliament from the opposition side will now face hard time to explain to their constituents after it has emerged that section of them were bribed to absent themselves during the passage of controversial Finance Bill, 2023 now a law
Majority of whom are so vocal including Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, Rarienda MP Otiende Amolo, Butere MP Tindi Mwale and Raila Odinga’s ardent legislators the likes of Makadara Member of Parliament George Aladwa
This is according to the vocal South Mugirango MP, who said the ruling coalition gained numerical advantage after some Azimio MPs were given ‘soup’ to travel abroad or feign sickness.
” I had to find a way, in Bunge I had to look for soup,” he said of the uncouth and unethical tactics by government in pushing for parliamentary agenda
Osoro, who is the, National Assembly Chief Whip, disclosed how the Kenya Kwanza administration used uncouth means to arm twist opposition MPs during the Finance Bill, 2023 voting in parliament.
Up to date, none of the Member of Parliament has given convincing reasons that led to skipping of the hotly contested proceedings that birthed the finance bill, 2023 into law
For instance, Owino said he had been away attending matters regarding a case in court and had communicated the same to Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi.
He said the engagement with his lawyers took the whole day and also burned the midnight oil
The government mustered numbers to defeat Azimio La Umoja MPs during the passage of the crucial bill that spells out revenue raising measures for the government.
In what may expose trotting bells of betrayal in Azimio, Osoro has claimed that the Kenya Kwanza MPs engineered the absence of opposition lawmakers in the house at the critical moment.
Amollo on the other hand tweeted that they had already opposed to the Finance Bill, 2023 but the Kenya Kwanza allied legislators had their way without divulging why he did not participate in the casting of his card
“We Reasoned, we opposed, we said no to the 16 per cent on fuel and gas. No to housing tax. No to the bill. Well, they have had their way! Let history judge…,” he tweeted.
Osoro who spoke in Kisii during a United Democratic Alliance(UDA) activation drive, claimed that the government stopped at nothing to ensure that the bill passed including bribing some opposition lawmakers to skip the crucial sessions.
The ruling coalition gained numerical advantage after some Azimio MPs were given ‘soup’ to travel abroad or feign sickness.
” I had to find a way, in Bunge I had to look for soup,” he said of the uncouth and unethical tactics by government in pushing for parliamentary agenda.
The revelations add a new twist to the opposition’s defeat in parliament.
“I had to look for ways, by hook or by crook, to get it through, I had to manipulate systems, I looked for ways to get the opposition MPs to play our tune, I conspired with the opposition MPs and got some of them to absent themselves om the House so that I could get the numbers. Some were sponsored to go abroad while others were bribed to feign illness,” Osoro claimed.
Outlining the elaborate scheme by the ruling coalition to defeat the opposition, Osoro said that his job as the majority whip would have been on the line had the bill flopped.
“I heard some people saying MPs should have voted ‘No’, while others said vote ‘Yes’ to the Finance Bill. Some told me to vote ‘No’. Let me ask you, I am the Chief Whip of the Government… the bill that is being debated is that before it is presented in Parliament and before anyone else sets eyes on it, it first comes to my desk. We are the ones who draft these bills,” said Osoro.
Azimio had summoned its 26 members who failed to show up in parliament for disciplinary action with Osoro’s revelations expected top give the Raila Odinga-led camp ammunition to deal with them.
They included among others, Butula Member of Parliament Joseph Oyula of ODM, Awendo MP on ODM John Walter, People’s Democratic Party MP for Bobasi Innocent Obiri
The vocal Orange Democratic Party Members of Parliament who were marked for disciplinary includeed Caleb Amisi [Saboti] Lurambi MP Bishop Titus Khamala, Kakamega County Women Representative Else Muhanda
Others affiliated to Azimio who did not vote are Mumias East MP Peter of Democratic Party of Kenya as well as Wiper Legislators Stephen Mule, Dadaam MP Farah Maalim and Harbae Said
Although, the implementation of the Act has been stopped by the High Court following a petition by Busia Senator Okiya Omutatah.