Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has broken her silence on the controversial finance bill, stating that she will vote for it despite concerns about some of its clauses.
While addressing her TikTok followers, Passaris expressed her admiration for President Ruto’s administration, admitting that her support for Raila Odinga did not necessarily imply hatred toward the current government.
“(Just because) I’m in Azimio and I’m a Baba Girl, I also admire Ruto, I admire the President, so get with it. I don’t give a crap what you think. Just because I’m in Baba’s party, doesn’t mean I have to hate Ruto. I love the President, I love the way he does things,” she confessed.
Passaris also told off her detractors, saying that she was tired of the constant threats from voters who have been warning her of losing her seat come 2027.
Passaris, who was one of many MPs who voted for the 2023 finance bill, addressed her adversaries directly, advising them to put their threats aside as she would continue to support causes she believed would benefit Kenyans.
“Don’t threaten me with 2027 with the one you’re going to vote for. You don’t even know whether you will be alive by then. If your only agenda in 2027 is to vote me out, remember there’s gonna be many people who will want to vote me in,” she emphatically stated.
“You only have one vote. I was elected by other 750,000 people. So don’t give me these threats all the time.”
Passaris also said that she was aware that a section of Kenyans had branded her a ‘traitor’ for supporting the last finance bill. She, however, reiterated that she would still support the upcoming bill if only for the sake of a functional Kenya.
“Those of you who keep calling me ‘Msaliti’ because I voted for the finance bill, well, there’s gonna be another one coming and even though there’s some issues I may disagree with, I’m gonna vote for the finance bill,” she said.
According to Passaris, the government needed money to stock hospitals with drugs, construct roads, refurbish schools, resettle displaced Kenyans, battle the flood crisis and alleviate the livelihoods of Kenyans thus the high taxation.
“We are going to try and make sure that the finance bill is going to be less harsh on the people but remember, we are a country that is in a bad space,” she said.
