The 13th parliament has been accused of being the house of bribery and outright corruption

There have been allegations of bribery at the 13th parliament. [File]

The 13th parliament has been accused of being a house of bribery and outright corruption with legislators coming out to confess bribe taking has been the norm in the last four years.

Since August 2022, allegations of cash-for-votes have trailed nearly every consequential decision to pass through Kenya's two chambers of parliament which has raised questions over the independence of Parliament to execute its constitutional mandate.

The most explosive allegation of bribery among legislators came out during the Finance Bill 2024 saga, whose rejection under street pressure left dozens dead and Parliament's own building scorched by protesters who invaded it painting the August house negatively.

Juja MP George Koimburi told a church congregation that MPs who voted YES for the Finance Bill had each pocketed Sh2 million but was later summoned before the House and pressured into a public apology, insisting he had no evidence and had merely repeated hearsay.

Koimburi’s claims whether proven or not had the allegation stick in the public precisely because it matched patterns Kenyans already recognized where it was believed that legislators were bribed to pass unpopular legislation without considering the wishes of majority of Kenyans.

President William Ruto while addressing private-sector leaders in August 2025 accused the parliamentary committees for demanding bribes to pass favorable laws and claimed members of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance routinely bribed committees to shape legislation in their favor.

This was a astonishing admission from the head of state, effectively conceding that the legislature he depends on to pass his government's agenda operates, by his own account, as a marketplace where the highest bidder carried the day at the expense of the public good.

The most recent scandal involved the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, which Ruto signed into law in June 2026 to help Kenya exit the Financial Action Task Force's "grey list with allegations raised that MPs had been paid as much as Sh10 million each to support the bill.

“By virtue of the position I hold today; I am a consumer of raw intelligence, there are legitimate concerns about how resources are being spent at the counties and we cannot run away, I know what is going on across the country,” said Ruto.

National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee denied any wrongdoing, while other MPs complained that repeated bribery accusations from senior government figures were exposing legislators to public suspicion of being guilty of matters they knew nothing about.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had made claims that Members of Parliament had been bribed by the powers that be to impeach and that the reasons for his removal from office were political in nature and that he had nothing wrong to deserve that.

“Meetings were held in Nyahururu, meetings were also held in Kitisuru in the house of a Cabinet Secretary and we know what was being discussed, we know the amount of money that exchanged hands, we know these things," said Gachagua.

Suna East MP Junet Mohamed recently claimed that money exchanged hands among Members of Parliament during the impeachment of former Deputy President alleging that some lawmakers who received the cash have little to show for it.

Junet alleged that money was circulating within Parliament as MPs debated and voted on Gachagua's removal from office, although he did not provide evidence or name the legislators involved, he claimed some recipients squandered the alleged payments instead of investing them in meaningful projects.

"When we were impeaching former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, there was some money that was moving around in Parliament. I will say the truth, there was something moving around, but unfortunately some of the recipients have got nothing to show for it," said Junet.

Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo claimed that he was offered a Sh4 million bribe to vote in favor of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's impeachment several months after Gachagua was impeached when lawmakers unanimously voted in support of his ouster motion.

"In Gachagua's matter, there was such an approach for bribery to vote in support of his impeachment and it had conditions, it was an offer of Sh4 million if you vote YES, If you take the money and go ahead and vote NO, then you will not get to your home," said Maanzo.

According to Maanzo, the so-called "state agents" were Members of Parliament and staff from State House who were pushing for a 100 percent pro-impeachment vote in the Senate, undermining the independence of the House.

After Gachagua's impeachment, Nyandarua Senator John Methu claimed that an unprecedented lobbying effort took place, involving colossal amounts of money-up to Sh10 million-to secure votes for the former Deputy President removal at the expense of a fair trial.

The three legislators’ remarks echo claims previously made by Gachagua, who has repeatedly alleged that legislators were bribed through the Deputy President's office to support  the motion that removed him from office, allegations that remain politically contentious.

Gachagua was impeached in October 2024 after both the National Assembly and the Senate found that the charges against him met the constitutional threshold for removal, marking the first successful impeachment of a Deputy President under Kenya's 2010 Constitution.

The dispute later moved to the High Court, where Gachagua challenged both the process and the outcome of his impeachment which was upheld by the court but he awarded Sh50 million in constitutional damages after it was found out that his rights were violated when the Senate declined a request by his legal team for an adjournment.

The Council of Governors early this year accused some Senators of political witch hunt and intimidation and threatened nonappearance before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee and the Senate County Public Investment and Special Funds Committee.

The CoG Chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi stated that Governors will not appear before the two watchdog Senate Committees until unless their concerns are addressed with the position causing a stalemate between the Senate and Governors.

 Abdullahi, stated after a Governors’ retreat in Kilifi that he was concerned about what he described as continuous and escalating extortion, political witch-hunt, harassment, intimidation, and humiliation of Governors by some Senators.

“To this effect, the Council of Governors has resolved that Governors will not appear before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee until our concerns are addressed through a structured engagement between us and the Senate leadership,” said Abdullahi.

Senate Public Accounts Committee Chairperson Moses Kajwang responded that Governors’ resolution implies they would only appear under their own terms before the Senate which should not be the case since they have a responsibility of being accountable to Kenyans.

 “The Governors want to choose who sits in the committees, when they appear, and how they are questioned. I have never seen a case where suspects dictate the bench, it is completely ridiculous,” said Kajwang.

He noted that recent Auditor General reports and media coverage highlight serious allegations of county resource theft. Article 229 and 125 give the Senate the power to consider these reports and summon individuals for evidence.

“Governors are bullying the Senate to avoid hard questions. Accountability is a duty to the public, not a favour to the Senate, the Council of Governors should be aware of this fact,” stated Kajwang.

The Homa Bay Senator urged Governors to submit evidence of extortion or harassment to the relevant institutions, assuring that the Senate will continue to perform its oversight mandate despite the threatens issued by the Council of Governors.

 “The Senate committees will act decisively wherever public resources are pilfered, which appears to make some Governors uncomfortable, that will not stop us from performing out mandate,” said Kajwang.