Lawmakers allied to President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Alliance , the majority side, voted 195 against 106 to carry the day in an exercise that saw zero abstentions. This becomes Kenya’s hurriedly adopted finance bill, considering that similar proposed laws took days to be enacted. President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza alliance enjoys majority in the National Assembly and it was easy for him to convince his lawmakers to push the bill down the throats of protesting Kenyans. Consequently, the debate was reduced to a government-side affair as Azimio MPs, joined by some Kenya Kwanza colleagues and Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, steered clear of the exercise. The lawmakers also voted to retain bread among commodities that are zero-rated from the proposed 16 percent value-added tax.

Source: Daily Nation June 25, 2024 11:39 UTC