Kenya: Finance Bill 2024 Dead, Buried After Public Outcry That Led to Protests

The contentious Finance Bill 2024 has been effectively nullified after Members of Parliament agreed with President William Ruto’s reservations, which called for the deletion of all clauses in the bill.

The decision follows widespread public outcry and protests across the country against the proposed legislation, which left more than 60 people dead.

Temporary Speaker Martha Wangari clarified the outcome, stating, “Following this decision, the Bill has been rejected in its entirety. The import of the decision of the House is that the Bill is lost. Consequently, no provision that was contained in the Bill shall have any legal effect.”

The Speaker further explained that the legislative process for the controversial bill had concluded, and no version of the bill would be forwarded to the President for assent. If any member wished to reinstate any clause from the Finance Bill 2024, they would need to secure the support of at least 233 Members of Parliament.

“There is no Bill for the Speaker to present to the President for assent. To signify the decision that the House has taken on the Bill this afternoon, I shall therefore only convey the effect of the decision, which is that the Finance Bill 2024 has been rejected,” the Speaker ruled.

National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwah expressed regret over the bill’s rejection, suggesting that Kenyans might miss out on some beneficial provisions. “I beg to move that we delete all those clauses. It’s unfortunate because when Kenyans said reject, we rejected everything good and bad. I just took liberty to point out the good that we rejected, and it is now rejected, dead and buried,” Ichungwah said.

Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu urged a straightforward acceptance of the President’s recommendations without further debate. “I have listened to the Majority Leader and what I thought we should just do, that even though we had some clauses that would have helped Kenyans, Kenyans did say we do away with this Bill. Can he just say we agree with the President and delete those clauses without any explanation? I submit,” Mulu said.

The bill’s rejection comes after thousands of young Kenyans protested last month, accusing President Ruto of imposing the legislation on them. In response to the public outcry, President Ruto announced that the bill would be withdrawn to allow for dialogue and a collective approach to financing the current budget.

The Finance Bill is typically a key piece of legislation that consolidates various proposed taxation measures intended to raise additional revenue to support the national budget.

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IRENE MWANGI

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