National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei has told off those censuring the Majority Whip Sylvanus Osoro for allegedly coercing Azimio la Umoja coalition MPs to skip voting for the contentious Finance Bill 2023.
This after Osoro was captured on tape admitting to have used crooked and unethical methods, including bribery, to persuade some Azimio MPs into skipping the parliamentary session on the day of voting, and later claimed to have been misquoted.
“I had to look for ways by hook or crook to get it through. I had to manipulate systems; I looked for ways to get the opposition MPs to play to our tune. I conspired with some opposition MPs and got some of them to be absent from the House so that I could get the numbers. Some of them were sponsored to go abroad while others were bribed to feign illness,” Osoro said during a UDA recruitment drive in Kitutu Chache South Constituency according to the Nation.
According to Shollei, if the allegations are true the blame should not be mounted on Osoro, but instead on the Azimio MPs who accepted the ‘soup’.
“You’re complaining that Osoro gave soup to your members of parliament, you should be castigating your MPs for accepting the soup,” said Shollei on Citizen TV’s Daybreak show on Monday.
Shollei went on to argue that those MPs who were allegedly sponsored to go abroad ought to have denied the offer and remain behind to support their fellow members in opposing the bill.
She even intimated that she was scheduled to attend a meeting overseas but had to postpone the travel in order to avail herself at the voting exercise.
“Even myself I am the leader of the delegation for the African, Caribbean Parliamentary Union. We have a joint parliamentary sitting with the European Union something that is in statute and it is part of a bilateral treaty that Kenya signed,” she noted.
“I was supposed to go there during the time of the Finance Bill because I took it seriously and I stood behind. The delegation is made up of Kenya Kwanza and Azimio MPs. Kenya Kwanza members did not go either. Some in Azimio went but some like Hon. Kaluma did not go.”
The legislator therefore noted that the allegedly coerced MPs had the liberty to make a personal choice and they fell for the bait.
“You cannot depend on Osoro to tell you whether to go or not. You are the one to decide. Osoro can throw some goodies and tell you to go but you decide,” she said.
“If people decided that they are leaving, the people we should be castigating are those who left.”
On his part, Osoro noted that he had to use any strategy to push for the successful passage of the bill and had even written to the clerk to halt any Kenya Kwanza MP from travelling outside the country to maintain a majority representation during the voting exercise.
“That should be an explanation from the Azimio side. Whatever strategy I employed as far as working to push government business is concerned that is me and we should all live that way,” said Osoro.
He added: “Unfortunately within that time there were some members of Azimio who had to travel. In fact there are some who travelled out of the country.”
“You should be asking me how many failed to travel because of my influence. I wrote to the clerk of the National Assembly to not allow any Kenya Kwanza member to fly out of the country and that was granted. Members of Azimio decided to travel and they reduced their numbers.”
Deputy Minority Whip Robert Mbui was quick to scoff at the legislators’ claims, arguing that there is a clear indication that there was bribing involved in influencing the result of the Finance Bill.
He argued that Osoro implicated that the Azimio MPs were offered something else, which he chose to coin with the term ‘soup’.
“When he (Osoro) talks about the soup, let’s be realistic it was not literal. This was kind of a parable. The implication was different,” said Mbui.
“We all know what it means. When you tell a Kenyan that ‘the police want tea’ it means that they are asking for a bribe.”
The Bill sailed through Parliament after a third reading by Kuria Kimani, chairman of the National Assembly Finance and National Planning Committee, and now Kenyans will have to dig deeper into their pockets to fund the government’s first budget.
There were 87 proposed amendments to the Bill, some of which were approved after a late-night debate by the National Assembly.
Among the most important proposals approved was a 16% value-added tax on gasoline, up from 8%, which has already been effected.
Except for Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, at least 184 MPs—mostly from Kenya Kwanza—supported the bill, while 88 MPs—mostly from Azimio—opposed the amendment.
Meanwhile, the High Court has extended the conservatory orders suspending the implementation of the Finance Act 2023 which brought into effect the new all-time high fuel prices.
This after petitions filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and one Peter Agoro, argued that the bill was founded on an illegality and thereby infringes and violates the Constitution.
