Opulence-flaunting MPs eat humble pie as Ruto withdraws Finance Bill

Gen Z has forced a revolution of sorts. The overlapping fuel guzzlers are off the roads, the flapping flags denoting the power of the high and the mighty riding  on the wrong side of the highway escorted by police sirens and strobe lights are also missing.

Some of these high-end cars too have lost the intimidating number plates that have been used as a decoy to drive some motorists off the road. 

And in yet another twist in the developing plot, the people's representatives in Parliament are now competing among themselves to rediscover their allegiance to the voters as they  demonstrate that they are not living flashy extravagant lifestyles.

The most comical of the displays was by the Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot who offered to show receipts to dispute reports that he was studding around in a designer pair of shoes estimated to be Sh165,000.

“The pair of shoes can’t go beyond Sh15,000. We went on a trip in the US, and I entered a small mall and bought it for 100 dollars. I can even produce the receipts. I only saw the brand that I’m associated with yesterday. My suppliers of shoes and jeans are the people I grew up with in the village; one is Colloser and Willy, so those claims of flashy life I don’t know,” he told The Standard in an interview.

The leaders who had the habit of flaunting millions in churches and fundraisers have stopped with Kapsaret MP Oscar Sudi, who broke the record of donating a whopping Sh20 million in a church, announcing that he has suspended his philanthropic activities after his flashy club in Eldoret was vandalized and expensive liquor stolen. He was being punished for supporting the impugned Finance Bill 2024/25, which has since been rejected by President William Ruto.

A replica of what happened in 1975 when ministers removed their ministerial flags from their official limousines and went to hide in their homes after the killing of Nyandarua North MP, JM Kariuki, has repeated itself.

After learning that his ministers were contemplating quitting, Jomo Kenyatta held a 30-minute 30 minutes Cabinet meeting where each was supposed to declare whether they were in or out. Minutes later, the president deployed troops in the street and took their salute from the balcony of a building along what is today Tom Mboya Street.

President William Ruto's announcement that he has rejected the contentious Finance Bill 2024 has confused Kenya Kwanza MPs who fought tooth and nail to pass the bill and now have to deal with public backlash.

At one point, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi warned that rejecting the bill was tantamount to a vote of no confidence in President Ruto’s administration, motivating some MPs to ignore the protests largely organised by Generation Z.

With the President’s move, some of the leaders have started swallowing the bitter pill, which includes seeking public apology from their constituents.

 After chest-thumping and dismissing the youthful protestors, claiming they did not understand the Finance Bill, some of the MPs have now gone to their electorates to apologise.

On Thursday, Turkana Central MP Joseph Namuar asked the residents of his Constituency for forgiveness after supporting the Finance Bill, even as he commended President Ruto for not signing the Finance Bill.

"Na kama kuna njia ambayo tulikosea sisi ambao tulipiga yes tunaomba msamaha, (if there is a way we wronged you for us who voted Yes, we seek forgiveness.)" Namuar said. 

He further hailed the President for what he termed as acknowledging and listening to the voices of the people.

“I commend the President because of his leadership that has confirmed to Kenyans that he listens to their opinion,” the MP said.

His public apology came a week after he was forced to cut his speech short after residents booed at him as he tried to explain to the residents why he voted Yes to the Finance Bill 2024 in its second reading on June 20.

Another MP who has been forced to eat a humble pie is Mbeere North MP Geofrey Ruuku, who, after the President’s move, decided to withdraw his ‘Assembly and Demonstrations Bill’ which was seeking to have the government regulate public demonstrations and protests.

The bill sought to spell out the conduct of an assembly or demonstration and  outline prohibitions during the event, which included imposing conditions relating to public order, safety and protection of freedom of persons.

In what could have granted extensive powers to law enforcement authorities to curb demonstrations deemed disruptive to public order, the bill provided stringent penalties, including fines of up to 100,000 Kenyan shillings and potential jail terms for violators.

It also mandated rigorous pre-event notification requirements, which many viewed as overly restrictive on the constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceful assembly.

But in a hasty U-turn, the MP, remorseful over the turn of events on the Finance Bill, announced that he would be writing to the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula to withdraw the draft regulations.

“The bill was founded on the need to give effect to Article 37 of the Constitution and to enhance the safety and security of the protestors, non-protestors and businesses. However, I have agreed with the will of Kenyans that the bill be withdrawn,” he wrote in his X platform.

“Asked how the bill would address the issue, the MP said, ‘Kenyans have said they don’t want any explanations; they have said we need to listen to them. If Kenyans say no to the Maandamno Bill, we also say no; if Kenyans ask us to jump we ask them how high we should jump; if they ask us to reason with them, then we reason with them,” he said.

However, Muranga Women Representative Betty Maina maintained that it is better to feel betrayed by the President than to feel as winners in an unstable country.

Ms Maina said she voted for the bill since her conscience informed her that the bill was good for the country but at a special parliamentary group at State House, they resolved ‘not to force development plans on the electorate as they had been poisoned to believe that it was bad for the country’.

“The bill was good but it will have far reaching ramifications that will be dire to development projects, but some people had infiltrated the protests and wanted to overthrow the government under the guise of rejecting the Finance bill,” she said.

This came even as Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday defended MPs who voted 'Yes' for the Finance Bill, 2024.

According to Gachagua, the MPs were only doing their jobs, and should not be punished or harassed by the people, while he insisted that governments are formed by parties, which elected leaders must always support in any programme brought to parliament.

He also reminded the youth that MPs have the freedom to exercise their right to vote.

"I want to ask Kenyans not to punish Members of Parliament for the stand that they took. A government is formed by a political party, and once a government has a programme in Parliament and decides it is good for the people, MPs from that party must toe the line." Gachagua said. "I don't want you to punish our MPs, they just did what is right in terms of our political formation."  He said, while calling on Kenyans not to attack properties owned by these leaders.

He noted that they were just doing what the government had instructed them to do, as party members and that since the government ‘had done the right thing’ they ought to let the MPs be.

The Deputy President further said that should anyone have a problem with any MP, they must wait for the next general election to take action.

"I empathise with Members of Parliament for their traumatic experiences in and out of parliament. I want to urge our young people that they don't have to destroy property to be heard," Gachagua said.