Saturday, July 8, 2023 – National Assembly Chief Whip, Silvanus Osoro, has claimed the Kenya Kwanza administration used unorthodox means to arm-twist opposition MPs during the Finance Bill 2023 voting in parliament.
Speaking in Kisii during a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) activation drive, Osoro said to ensure that the bill passed, they bribed some opposition lawmakers to skip the crucial sessions.
According to the vocal South Mugirango Member of Parliament, the ruling coalition gained the numerical advantage after some Azimio MPs were given ‘soup’ to travel abroad or feign sickness.
“I had to find a way, in Bunge I had to look for soup,” he said of the uncouth and unethical tactics of the government in pushing for a parliamentary agenda.
The revelations add a new twist to the opposition’s defeat in parliament.
“I had to look for ways, by hook or by crook, to get it through, I had to manipulate systems, I looked for ways to get the opposition MPs to play our tune, I conspired with the opposition MPs and got some of them to absent themselves in the House so that I could get the numbers.
“Some were sponsored to go abroad while others were bribed to feign illness,” Osoro claimed.
Outlining the elaborate scheme by the ruling coalition to defeat the opposition, Osoro said that his job as the majority whip would have been on the line had the bill flopped.
“I heard some people saying MPs should have voted ‘No’, while others said vote ‘Yes’ to the Finance Bill.
“Some told me to vote ‘No’. Let me ask you, I am the Chief Whip of the Government… the bill that is being debated is that before it is presented in Parliament and before anyone else sets eyes on it, it first comes to my desk.
“We are the ones who draft these bills,” said Osoro.
“If it gets to the floor and is voted down, the position for Osoro is gone.
“I cannot allow that to happen. If it is voted down, my position as chief whip could be taken away.
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