Agony for Kenyans as Parliament passes Uhuru’s tax proposals

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s proposal to levy an 8% tax on petroleum products will now apply after the National Assembly failed to raise the requisite 233 members required to shoot down the head of state’s proposals.

Kenyans will now see taxes on money transactions, airtime, data, ATM and on the counter withdrawals amongst other taxes imposed on them after a section of MPs failed to garner the numbers to stop the bill from being passed.

Speaker Justin Muturi had earlier suspended proceedings of the House for 15 minutes after detecting a hitch in the ICT system that powers the August House voting system.

After resuming session, Speaker Muturi had to make a ruling on claims made by MPs opposed to the tax that the first round of voting had been compromised.

MPs including Ruaraka legistlator TJ Kajwang, Nyali MP Mohammed Ali, Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo and Kiambu Woman representative Gathoni Wamuchomba accused Majority Leader Aden Duale and Minority Leader John Mbadi of leading a section of legislators out of the chambers to ensure that the Nays did not win through a physical count.

The division was called after the opposing MPs rejected a declaration by the chair that they had lost through the vote of acclamation, they demanded a second vote.

The second vote failed to materialise after failing to raise the 233 members as stipulated by the National Assembly’s standing orders.

Speaker Muturi while justifying his ruling said that the hansard, the official record of the House, indicated that only 215 members were present effectively killing Kenyans’ hope of seeing the different sets of taxes done away with.

“I direct the clerk to take a head count of the members in the house. We have a total of 215 members in the house. In that case the Ayes have it,” said the speaker amidst jeers from the opposing MPs.

After Muturi made the proclamation, the MPs in unison, resorted into songs of solidarity in a bid to make their position known, they would not be privy to making the lives of the common Kenyan more unbearable.

“Wakenya msilale bado mapambano,mapambano, bado mapambano,” the MPs sang but it was already too late.