Members of Parliament affiliated with the opposition Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition on Thursday caused a stir in the House by walking out just before Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u read the budget.
Speaking at a press conference outside Parliament chambers, the legislators attempted to explain that their action was not in protest of the budget reading itself, but rather of the proposed Finance Bill, 2023.
The MPs, led by Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi and Minority Whip Junet Mohamed, were outraged by how quickly the contentious Bill passed the Second Reading stage in Parliament on Wednesday evening.
The Bill was supported by 176 MPs and opposed by 81, and it is now scheduled for third reading, which is the committee of the whole House stage.
In between chants of “bado mapambano,” opposition lawmakers appeared to allude to being sabotaged, claiming that the Speaker had initially informed them that voting was scheduled for next week.
“We were in chambers when the Speaker said that the debate would happen yesterday and today, the voting was to happen next week…how they ended up voting yesterday is what we are protesting,” said Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo.
“We are walking out because the budget has been fuelled by the illegal Finance Bill which increases high cost of living. The government ignored the plight of poor Kenyans. We will use all the necessary means enshrined in the constitution to stop this Government from suppressing citizens,” his Embakasi East counterpart Babu Owino stated.
Junet, on his part, chimed in: “The most important part of the Bill is coming on Tuesday (next week) for the third reading, we are setting the stage for a showdown. We don’t believe in this government until we get a budget that is people-centered we will not agree.”
