Kenya’s National Assembly’s Finance Committee has bowed to pressure from different stakeholders and dropped a number of contentious clauses in the Finance Bill, 2024, even as Kenyans took to the streets in Nairobi on Tuesday morning to protest against the proposed laws.
The committee is today afternoon expected to table its report, with recommendations, in the House.
This comes as ruling Kenya Kwanza and opposition Azimio MPs were summoned by their respective leaderships to meetings Tuesday to firm up positions on the Bill.
Kenya Kwanza’s Parliamentary Group, which was chaired by President William Ruto at State House on Tuesday, comes as his emboldened deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, has been accused of inciting MPs associated with him to shoot down the Bill over its punitive proposals.
Azimio has also urged its members to shoot it down, but with the committee recommending the deletion of the punitive taxes, it remains to be seen how the MPs will approach the debate on the Bill.
In an address to the nation, the Kimani Kuria-led committee announced the proposed changes, noting that they were informed by the inflationary pressures confronting a lot of Kenyans.
