Legislators should be serious about Parliament's power of the purse

Members of parliament voted and passed the Finance Bill 2026 . [ File]

The Kenyan national assembly is full of cowards. As the legislature sat to vote on the  2026/27.Finance Bill on Thursday night, only 162 out of 349 legislators were present in the House. Among them, 162 supported the bill while 40 opposed it. The bill passed, and now awaits presidential assent to become law. 

This episode is a reminder of the enduring cowardice of Parliament as an institution. As I have argued before, our legislators collectively behave like a previously cage animal that stays in the cage even after the door is opened simply through habit and cowardice.